There is No “I” in Team

Caitlin Clark, Face of Women’s NCAA College Basketball. Caitlin Clark, Role Model for young girls playing basketball. Caitlin Clark, Arguably the G.O.A.T of college women’s basketball. These are just some of the headlines that flood media coverage for the NCAA college women’s basketball postseason tournament. 

However, the media putting all of women’s Collegiate basketball on Caitlin Clark’s shoulders is not only unfair to her, but to some of the unnamed athletes who deserve their recognition and time in the spotlight.  

Caitlin Clark committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes Women’s Basketball team in 2020. In her debut collegiate game, she recorded 27 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in a 96-81 win over North Northern Iowa. In her second game, she recorded her first double-double with 30 points and 13 assists in a 103-97 victory over Drake. 

 Though, she was already a force to be reckoned with. In high school, she won two gold medals with the U19 Team USA and the U19 FIFA World Cup alongside the 2024 BIG EAST Player of the Year and 2024 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Paige Bueckers. 

When asked how many college women’s basketball players AFS students could name, only two names stood out. Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese. Angel Reese is the 2024 SEC Player of the Year, made All-SEC First Team, and All-SEC Defensive Team, and is a 2023 NCAA National Champion. Yet, she is most known for her “ taunting”  John Cena “You Can’t See Me” and ring gesture toward Caitlin Clark in the NCAA Championship game last year. 

In the 2023 Elite 8 Iowa vs. Louisville game, Caitlin Clark hit her 6th 3-pointer of the game, and celebrated by doing the iconic John Cena “You Can’t See Me” face toward her opponent, stating that she is unstoppable. 

She received praise from John Cena, LeBron, and Dick Vitale. Yet when Angel Reese reenacted the same gesture, she received backlash from the media, despite just winning a national championship. 

In response, Reese said, “I don’t fit the narrative, I don’t fit the box that y’all want me to be in.” 

Reese claims that all year she was receiving backlash from the media because she was “too hood,” or “too ghetto,” and even calls out the fact of the double standard between black and white women athletes. Last year, she averaged around 23 points and 15 rebounds, and in the 2024 season,, she averaged around 18 points and 13 rebounds. 

After a tough battle between the birds, the Hawkeyes persevered against the Cardinals 97 to 83, to move on to the Final Four to play the South Carolina Gamecocks. 

During that game, a game clip went viral after Caitlin Clark waved off player Raven Johnson, feeling the need not to guard her as she thought Johnson would not shoot the three. 

That game ended 77-73 Iowa Hawkeyes. In a post-game interview, Johnson was bombarded by interviewers who only had one question for her, “how was she feeling?” Her eyes swelled up with tears, and her voice shaky from the devastating loss, she answered “ it hurts.” 

This year, she turned her pain and sadness into motivation. When asked about the difference between 2023 Johnson, and 2024 Johnson, she said, “ I am taking more shots this year. And seeing the ball go in boosts my confidence, and seeing my teammates take shots, the ball goes in, also boosts my confidence.” 

Even though her statistics are a little low, her court action surely does not go unnoticed. In the rival match between Iowa and South Carolina, her defensive play shined through. With two steals and a block against Caitlin Clark, she changed not only her team’s morale but the morale of Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes. 

Johnson’s lockdown defense on the star player was one of the reasons that South Carolina won this year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. From tears on a pillow last year, to tears of joy on the biggest stage of women’s college basketball, Raven Johnson can tell one of the greatest motivational and player development stories there is to tell. 

Another player with an impeccable story from the South Carolina Gamecocks is center, Kamilla Cadorso. Born in Montes Claros, Brazil, she chased her dream of playing basketball by moving to the United States In 2016, all by herself. 

Having no family in the US,  coach Kesha Hunt of Hamilton High Highschool became a support system for her on and off the court. In her senior year, Cadorso was averaging 24 points and 17 rebounds, which led her to be ranked 5th overall by ESPN. 

She committed to Syracuse where she was the highest-ranked recruit in program history. In her time there, she was named Freshman ACC Player of the Year, and ACC Defensive Player of the Year Honor. 

She then transferred her sophomore year to South Carolina, where she would be taken under the wing of center Aaliyah Boston for the next two years. In her senior year, she was named Defensive Player of the Year in March of 2024. 

Her coach Dawn Staley recognized the sacrifices she made to get herself to the position where she is now, and so to honor her, she surprised her with the two most special people in Cadorso’s life, her mother and her sister. 

The surprise allowed her mother and her sister to watch her make history as Cardoso won her second NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and was named MOP of the tournament. Now, she has declared for the WNBA  draft with her story just beginning. 

These are just some of the names that are changing the evolution of NCAA Women’s Basketball. Except, the story doesn’t start here. Their story and history in College women’s basketball would not have been possible if it wasn’t for all the women before them that paved the way. 

In the 1980s, Cheryl Miller led the University of Southern California to back-to-back National titles and was named Most Valuable Player during her freshman and sophomore years. In the summer of 1984, She led Team USA in the Olympics to their first-ever win In Los Angeles California.

Another powerhouse player of the late 1980s was USC’s Cynthia Cooper. She led the “Ladies of Troy” to back-to-back national titles in 1983 and 1984. Although she did not graduate, she finished her college career as a finalist in the 1986 NCAA Tournament and was a part of the All-Tournament Final Four Team. 

 In the 1990s, University of Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw led them to three consecutive NCAA wins, which was a first in program history. She also helped break NCAA records in 1998, ending the season 39-0, which was the most wins in NCAA history. She finished her career with 3,025  points and 1,295 rebounds, making her the lead scorer and rebounder of Tennessee’s men’s and women’s college basketball. She also holds two consecutive Naismith Player of the Year Awards (1998 and 1999). 

Teammates Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird were a part of UConn’s 2000s dynasty as they helped lead them to three consecutive NCAA titles.  In the late 2000s,  Maya Moore made a name for herself.

Moore led her team to an undefeated 39-0 season and a 2009 national championship, where she won AP Player of the Year,  Naismith College Player of the Year,  USBWA National Player of the Year, John R Wooden Award, and the Wade trophy. After she graduated, she was the first overall WNBA pick in 2011 and became the first female basketball player to sign with the Jordan Brand. 

In the 2010s, another star arose. Some argue that she is G.O.A.T of college women’s basketball. 4x NCAA champion, 4x MOP, 3x National Player of the Year, and UConn’s second all-time leading scorer at 2,676 points and 1,179 rebounds, Breanna Stewart.

Caitlin Clark did not pave the way for women’s college basketball. Caitlin Clark is not the only role model young girls have to look up to for women’s basketball. Clark is simply just raising the standards and competitiveness of college basketball. As all of these women continue their journey and dream of playing basketball, they are walking down the paved road with all of these incredible women standing behind.