Caitlin Clark's 5 best quotes of the Iowa women's basketball season

The Iowa women's basketball team is back in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 for the second time in three years, in large part thanks to the play of superstar guard Caitlin Clark.

The West Des Moines native is a favorite to win the Naismith National Player of the Year Award, which is just about the only accolade she's yet to rack up in her three-year career. Even without that on her illustrious resume, she's still without question one of the best to ever lace up her shoes and hit the floor for the Hawkeyes. With a good performance this weekend, first against Colorado and then against the winner of the Louisville vs. Ole Miss contest, she could help power Iowa back to the Final Four for the first time since 1993.

That would top her list of countless accomplishments in her Iowa career so far, no doubt. But with so many accomplishments already under her belt, she's no stranger to the media room. After just about every game and at other times throughout the season she meets with reporters to talk about her team, her plays and anything else she gets asked about. Thanks to her seemingly constant availability, she's run off some pretty solid quotes this season.

Here are Clark's top five best quotes of the 2022-23 campaign leading into Friday's Sweet 16 matchup at 6:30 p.m.

Iowa still wins even when playing ugly basketball

After Iowa came away with a narrow 74-66 win over Georgia in the Round of 32, there was some uneasiness in the fanbase. After all, the Hawkeyes were projected to win a lot more comfortably than they did against the 10-seed Lady Bulldogs.

Clark knew that and she knows every game from here on out will be tough. But she was still pretty pleased her team was able to pull off a win in March despite not playing their best game.

More:Caitlin Clark's top five moments so far for Iowa women's basketball

“That’s how teams are going to play when they play Iowa the rest of the season,” Clark said. “I think more than anything, it should give us confidence rather than something to be frustrated about — turning the ball over like that.

“We just won, and we didn’t play our prettiest basketball. Well, let’s celebrate that and use that going forward.”

Last year's NCAA Tournament mistakes are this year's motivation

That hard-fought win over Georgia was dangerously similar to last year's season-ending Round of 32 loss to Creighton.

Leading up to last week's contest, the similarities between the two games were obvious. It was another matchup between a 2 and 10 seed and it was played inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Still, Clark wasn't letting any potential of an upset slip into her mind. She was ready to flip the script this season.

“That was the one bright spot when we lost last year,” Clark said. “We have everybody back from our core that we could bring back. We had to make a decision — yeah, that (loss) stung — but at the same time, we’re lucky to have this group right here so why not go work harder and re-write the script? Change the story of what happened to us.”

More:Iowa women's basketball star Caitlin Clark repeats as Big Ten player of the year

Caitlin Clark loves Iowa women's basketball fans

Carver-Hawkeye Arena is a special place that can get as loud as any venue in the country when the moment calls for it.

After the NCAA Tournament selection show earlier this month when it was announced the Hawkeyes would host the opening two rounds of the tournament, Clark was excited to play in front of the fans she loves.

"Our fans are the best in the country. I know tickets are going to be super hard to get their hands on (for the first and second rounds)," Clark said. "I think we're already over 10,000 (tickets sold) and they aren't even on sale yet just because of season-ticket holders. It's going to be a hard ticket to come by, which is really special and unique for women's basketball.   

Caitlin Clark is one of the faces of the women's game

Women's basketball, like most women's sports, is rapidly growing in popularity around the country. ESPN has exclusive rights to the women's NCAA Tournament and played all their regular season and Big Ten Tournament games on a broadcast network or a big-name streaming service.

Thanks to that accessibility, Clark has become one of the most recognizable faces in women's basketball over the last three years. To her, it's awesome to know that there are millions of little girls around the country who look to her to see what they have the potential to become.

More:What the college basketball world is saying about Caitlin Clark's game-winner over Indiana

“I’m all about growing the women’s game,” Clark said after toppling Indiana in the regular season finale last month, “and I’m glad I’ve given something that little girls can scream about at the top of their lungs. I can imagine when I was younger, I was doing the exact same thing watching on TV. It’s pretty fun.”

After earning a spot in the Big Ten title game

This one needs very little explanation.

After Iowa's Big Ten Tournament semifinal victory over Maryland, a reporter asked Clark about reaching the title game for the third straight year. The junior responded with just four words.

“That’s all I know,” she said.