Caitlin Clark Taken No. 1 in WNBA Draft by Indiana Fever

NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark admitted she was a little nervous before being chosen No. 1 in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, although it wasn’t a surprise.

“I’ve been dreaming of this moment since I was in second grade, and it took a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs, but more than anything, I just tried to soak it in,” Clark said.

The former Iowa star became a household name among basketball fans during her record-breaking college career, and now she’ll try to help revive the Indiana franchise alongside No. No. 1 last season, Aliyah Boston, who previously played with Clark in the United States. Under-19 basketball team.

“Obviously, I’m going to an organization that has, in my eyes, one of the best post players in the world,” Clark said. “My leader eyes light up at that. And obviously, Aliyah was once one of my teammates. I’m excited. I can not wait.

The fever that had taken Clark’s life was inevitable since she announced on February 29 that she would turn professional. Nearly 17,000 tickets were claimed to attend the draft at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home of the NBA’s Fever and Indiana Pacers.

Clark helped attract millions of fans to women’s soccer with her iconic midfield logo shots and passing ability. The NCAA’s all-time scoring leader is a big reason why a record 18.9 million viewers watched the national championship game, which Iowa lost to undefeated South Carolina. The Hawkeyes were also national runners-up behind LSU a year earlier.

It’s been a hectic few weeks for Clark. After the title match, she flew to Los Angeles to receive the John R. Wooden Award, then came to New York for an appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

“I think obviously the last few weeks have been pretty crazy in my life, the last couple months playing basketball as long as I could in my college career,” Clark said. “I think the most important thing is I’m very lucky to be in this moment, and all these opportunities and these things, it’s once in a lifetime.”

Clark, who wore a white Prada jacket and skirt, hugged her parents, brothers and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder after being drafted.

The draft took place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in front of 1,000 fans, who bought all the tickets within 15 minutes of them going on sale a few months ago.

Los Angeles selected Stanford’s Cameron Brink second overall. She will stay in California and give the Sparks a two-way player.

“When they called my name, a huge wave of emotions hit me,” Brink said. “I saw my mother crying and my father and it hit me.”

A prolific scorer, Brink was also the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. The Sparks were expected to replace franchise player Nneka Ogwumike, who left for Seattle in free agency. Brink’s godmother, Sonya Curry, is the mother of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.

“I FaceTimed Steph five minutes before the show started and he said have fun with it,” Brink said. “He can share so much good advice since going through this. Make things like this fun because they can be stressful.

Chicago had the third pick and selected South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso before the Sparks went on the clock again and selected Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson.

Cardoso had a busy week, helping the Gamecocks win the national championship to finish an undefeated season. She participated in the team’s championship parade on Sunday before heading to New York.

Dallas took Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon with the fifth pick. Washington drafted UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards sixth before Chicago took LSU’s Angel Reese at No. 7, pairing her with Cardoso.

“She’s a great player and I’m a great player. Nobody’s going to have a rebound on us,” the 6-foot-7 Cardoso said with a laugh.

Minnesota, which had traded picks with Chicago, drafted Utah’s Alissa Pili eighth.

Two French guards, Carla Leite and Leila Lacan, traveled to Dallas and Connecticut respectively.

New York drafted Ole Miss’ Marquesha Davis 11th overall and Atlanta closed out the first round by taking Australian Nyadiew Puoch.

The champions are here

Two-time defending champion Las Vegas didn’t have a first-round pick, but made the most of three second-round picks. The Aces selected Syracuse guard Dyaisha Fair, who finished as the third-leading scorer in NCAA Division I history, with the 16th pick. Two picks later, they chose Iowa’s Kate Martin. The team closed the round by selecting Elizabeth Kitley of Virginia Tech, who is recovering from a torn ACL. She is out for the season and showed up on crutches.

On the way to Phoenix

Charisma Osborne was the last of 15 players invited to the draft to be chosen, going with the first third-round pick to Phoenix. Osborne, who played at UCLA, said being picked so late didn’t bother her.

“I was nervous all night. My feelings haven’t changed,” she said. “I heard my name and I was so excited. I can’t wait to get to work in Phoenix.