One of the hottest sports topics in recent history has been the discussion about why women’s sports should receive more attention than it currently does.
There are still plenty of strides to be made, but there’s no denying there has been progress in viewership.
One of the latest ways that progress has been highlighted is by the ratings on the latest Iowa women’s basketball game. The Saturday prime-time matchup between Iowa and Maryland averaged 1,578,000 viewers, per Iowa’s Bailey W. Turner. That made it the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever on Fox.
Filling arenas and living rooms! 📺
Saturday’s primetime matchup averaged 1,578,000 viewers, making it the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever on FOX and was up 201% over last year’s average of 525k viewers for @B1Gwbball games on the network.#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/WrrxAf8a51
— Bailey W. Turner (@Bailey_Turner_) February 6, 2024
The Hawkeyes put on quite the performance, defeating the Terrapins, 93-85.
Caitlin Clark led the way once again with game-highs of 38 points and 12 assists while shooting 13-for-29 from the field and 7-for-17 from 3-point range. Clark is now only 66 points from passing Kelsey Plum as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.
MORE: Tracking Caitlin Clark’s path to become Division I’s all-time scoring leader
For the season, Clark is averaging 32.4 points, 7.9 assists and 7.0 rebounds. She’s leading the country in both scoring and assists.
Many have chimed in with their thoughts on Clark’s excellence, one of the latest being Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“She’s one of the best college basketball players to ever play,” Mahomes said of Clark ahead of the Super Bowl. “She’ll go to the WNBA and dominate there as well. Hopefully, I never have to play her one-on-one because she’ll for sure be getting buckets on me.”
Things are looking up for women’s sports as a whole, something Clark and the Lady Hawkeyes continue to have a positive impact on.