Lisa Bluder on Caitlin Clark: 'She's a magnet for fans'

All eyes will surely be on the Elite Eight slate tonight in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, specifically with No. 1 Iowa facing No. 3 LSU in a championship rematch. However, it’s just the sort of spotlight the Hawkeyes have been under with Caitlin Clark becoming the superstar that she is.

Lisa Bluder recently spoke about the kind of attention that Clark brings upon them. She described it as a sort of magnetism as crowds and audiences file in as many as they can in order to watch her play each and every game.

“Quite honestly, everywhere we go, the average attendance increases a lot because people want to see Caitlin Clark play. So, right away, she’s a magnet for fans,” Bluder said. “Wherever we go, it is the highest crowd that they have all year long so it doesn’t surprise me at all.”

That’s certainly so for fans of the program who are enjoying Clark’s final games with the team. That has now begun to impress Bluder as she isn’t sure how some of them are even getting tickets inside MVP Arena based on what she thought she knew.

“What does surprise me is as many Hawk fans that are here because what I had heard before this was announced that it was already sold out and we weren’t going to get many tickets and all that. So to see so much black and gold here, they must have worked really hard to get their tickets,” Bluder said.

“Again, Hawk fans are absolutely incredible,” said Bluder.

Clark is averaging 31.7 points, 8.9 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in her fourth and final season. She has done so in 34 minutes a game over 36 appearances where she has shot 46% from the field and 37.7% from three on 5.1 makes from distance a contest.

Over three games in the tournament, Clark has posted 29.3 points 9.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and two steals in a trio of wins. Those victories have set the date with the Tigers in Albany tonight with a spot in Cleveland for the Final Four up for grabs.

While Iowa is the favorite tonight in the meeting against the defending champions, this very well could be the final game of Clark’s collegiate career. That should only add to the draw that the game will have this evening as the sport comes together to watch to see if its her final act as a Hawkeye or return to the Final Four for Iowa.