Caitlin Clark impact summed up by Lisa Bluder as WNBA playoff agony hits

Caitlin Clarks impact on womens basketball the rookie ever stepped foot onto a court.

On Wednesday, the Fever suffered an after losing to the , 87-81, at Mohegan Sun Arena.

did all she could to stave off elimination in the win-or-go-home Game 2 of the first round - leading her team with 25 points and nine assists in 40 minutes played - but the dominant showing ultimately wasnt enough to see another day.

Despite the disappointing finish to the season, Clark still has much to be proud of when looking back on her historic rookie campaign.

She broke the WNBA record for most assists in a single season with 337, while additionally scoring the most points ever by a rookie (769).

Thanks to her incredible feats, Clark earned a with 130 points, securing six third-place votes, 26 fourth-place votes and 22 fifth-place votes.

She additionally and was named to the All-WNBA First Team and All-Rookie Team.

Clarks influence wasnt just restricted to the court this year, either.

According to the , she and the Fever broke the single-season record for average attendance (17,036) and total attendance (340,715) while also smashing a plethora of ratings in ratings and merchandise sales.

For much of her career both at the professional and collegiate level, Clarks games have been deemed must-watch television.

The star guard first burst onto the national scene at , and didnt take long to make herself a household name.

Several weeks after Clark cemented herself as one of the greatest college athletes to ever grace the court by in NCAA Division I basketball history, then-Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder commended her for the positive effect she has on the program.

I think she's had a huge impact, not only for fan support - I mean we sold out very quickly every single game and everywhere we go - but also with recruiting, Bluder said back in March.

Just with the added TV exposure, you're on TV and recruits can see you so that's a good thing and they like what Iowa is all about, they like the fan support, they like the community.

We play a fun brand of basketball, we lead the country in scoring, assists, and field goal percentage so that's a fun style.

Despite several veteran players suggesting that Clark would struggle through a transition period upon entering the WNBA, the 22-year-old almost immediately took the league by storm.

Over 40 games started in the regular season for the Fever, she averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game..

This article has been shared from the original article on themirror, here is the link to the original article.