Caitlin Clark explains how National Championship loss in 2023 is driving Iowa in 2024

This time last season, Iowa was just one game away from securing the program’s first national championship. LSU got the last laugh though, with the Tigers cutting down the nets in Dallas. A heartbreaking moment for Caitlin Clark and her teammates.

Iowa luckily finds itself in a position to once again play for the national title. They went through a familiar foe, LSU, in the Elite Eight to clinch a spot in the Final Four. And while getting revenge on LSU might be a good feeling, the big-picture goal is still what Clark is focused on.

“That’s where we want to be,” Clark said. “But you’ve got to win one at a time. There’s still two more there to get. That’s what makes the Final Four so fun. Anybody can take it. Anybody can win it. We want to win the national title. That’s probably what 100 other Division I basketball teams said when they started their season. There’s only one team of 360 that get to end their season happy.

“And to me, that’s what makes this sport so fun. A lot of people end disappointed. And being so close last year, I think that’s what just drives you.”

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Next up for Iowa is UConn after the Huskies took down USC. It’s a battle between Clark and Paige Beuckers, someone Geno Auriemma claimed to be the best player in women’s college basketball. A star-studded affair is set in Cleveland.

Clark is sure of one thing — Iowa is going to go out there and give everything they have. Not only is representing the program a huge deal for them but the drive to win a national championship is something that lives with them daily. Last year’s loss is just a reminder of why they’re working.

“I know our group has given everything we’ve got,” Clark said. “At the end of the day, you win, you lose, I feel like our group has given so much to this game and to this program that you can always hold your head high.

“But at the same time, that’s the reason we’ve been able to play such good basketball, is we don’t want this to end. We want to keep coming back and working hard with each other and fighting for one more week and extend it as long as you possibly can, I guess.”