Caitlin Clark & Georgia Amoore Put on a Show Fit for the Elevating Status of Women’s College Basketball

By Will Locklin

Staff Writer

November 10, 2023

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A decade ago, it would have been unheard of for the Spectrum Center to host an NBA matchup on a Wednesday night, and then see a top 10 women’s college basketball showcase take the spotlight the following evening. From the court setup, to the sponsorship logos, to the over 15,000 fan crowd, to the national TV spotlight on ESPN2 — everything about the Ally Tipoff clash between the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes and the No. 8 Virginia Tech Hokies was first class. 

“From the way that we walked into Charlotte and saw our faces on billboards, the way that they publicized it to the way we walked around town and into the stadium with a police escort — it was big time,” Tech head coach Kenny Brooks said postgame. “I switched over to the women’s side and I’ve been championing for the cause to give women this opportunity and tonight it was like a dream come true.” 

As Hokie and Hawkeye fans started to file into the seats of the Spectrum Center, the environment intensified to greater heights. Enter Sandman playing in front of a strong Hokie crowd of about 60 percent of the stadium kicked the energy up a couple notches and it didn’t go down much from there. The stage was set, the stars were ready and the sense that this night would be a special one for women’s basketball filled every seat in the arena. 

“We went to the Final Four last year, and this atmosphere rivals it, [it] even got a little bit louder,” Brooks said. “We had so many Hokies in the building but it was electric. I want to thank everyone who put on the event and everyone who had a say in it. It was unbelievable.” 

When the game tipped off, Virginia Tech & Iowa were led by their respective superstar guards Caitlin Clark and Georgia Amoore. Clark has been a viral sensation for dominating the sport of women’s hoops but for every fan that tuned to watch Clark, they most certainly kept watching for Amoore. Tech’s senior point guard lit the floor on fire in the first quarter, scoring 11 of her 31 points in the first 10 minutes and capping it off with a sensational half court buzzer-beater that sent shockwaves through the Spectrum Center air. 

“I just wanted to carry that energy over for the rest of the game. Sometimes a shot falls and you play it cool,” Amoore said.

Of all the moments in the game, none came closer to electrifying the crowd than Amoore’s first quarter buzzer-beater. It sent a message to Iowa and to the world that the Hokies meant business Thursday night. 

“I’ve been in this arena before when Steph Curry was in here and it wasn’t this loud. Maybe it was the seat I was sitting in.” Brooks said jokingly. 

As the game unfolded, one certainty came across the minds of every fan, coach and media member: Caitlin Clark is simply inevitable. The reigning Naismith Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year dropped 44 points on the Hokies, the most ever by a single opponent in a game. Iowa only had two other scorers crack double figures, and nobody else on the team took double-digit shots from the floor. Some might call it a one-woman show, but clearly a Clark masterclass is all the Hawkeyes needed to edge past the Hokies, 80-76. 

Clark’s heroics defied the usual impact of just one player on a basketball court. The Hokies couldn’t stop her in transition as Iowa beat out Tech 21-0 in terms of fastbreak points. Tech also couldn’t stop her from driving to the hoop as Clark finished 13-for-17 from the free throw line. The Hokies benefited from Clark shooting just 31 percent from behind the arc, but the All American still drilled five triples, and each one felt like it was worth much more. 

“We’re playing against a generational player, we will watch her play for a very long time. Sometimes you're playing checkers and she’s playing chess. She’s that good,” Brooks said. 

What was far more striking than her performance were the hundreds of young girls wearing No. 22 on the back of a jersey or holding a handmade poster in their hand for a camera to catch. Clark is more than just a generational basketball player — she’s a full blown sports phenomenon. 

“Crowds like this should become normal for women’s basketball,” Clark said. “It’s cool to see myself on this stage and I never take for granted the environments we get to play in. We’re far from home and still have many young girls screaming our names, at the end of the day that’s what matters more than scoring points.” 

It’s one thing to watch Clark ball out on TV, but getting to see it in person felt different. The crowds surrounded Clark postgame on her way to the tunnel with fans asking Clark to sign a jersey to take a picture. It all felt Michael Jordan-esque in the sense that Clark has become a figure to grow the game, and especially for the game of women’s basketball 

“Last year every road attendance grew by 3,500 at that place. There is an effect of people wanting to watch Caitlin. Right now we’re looking at sellouts for visiting arenas. Ours sold out in a matter of a couple weeks.” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said.

Each year the sport of women’s college basketball seems to gain a step up on the ladder and showcases like this go a long way to growing the spectacle of the sport. Players like Clark and Amoore are all-world basketball talents and showed exactly why the women’s hoops deserves to have a national spotlight of this magnitude.  

“It was unreal for our second game in November to have a 15,000 fan turnout,” Amoore said. “It’s what you dream of when you come to college. Being a woman in sports we’ve been in gyms that have not very many people and in gyms that don’t have the best facilities. So to be put in the spotlight in an NBA arena with a great opponent is all you can ask for."