Chelsie Brown | KCRG Iowa Sports Reporter

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Visit Carvana.com to shop for thousands of vehicles under $20,000. We are pleased to welcome Chelsea Brown, who is there at the game on the court covering it for KCRG. And this is her beat now as a TV reporter. It's all the rage in Iowa and across the country. Chelsea, it's great to have you.

I'm excited about your perspective. What was the atmosphere like there on the court and the buzz on this incredible day for this awesome event? It was energetic. I don't think the energy has left the building, probably let alone Iowa City at this point. But that is what this team and Kaitlyn Clark has done all season. They've sold out all their home games.

They are selling out all their road games. And if you think back to even how this season started, I mean, they packed a football stadium of over 55,000 fans to watch women's basketball. So I think even today, it's hard to just wrap your head around the magnitude that has become just the Iowa women's basketball Kaitlyn Clark. But to put it from even my perspective a little bit, the night that she broke Kelsey Plumb's record against Michigan, which was just last month, there are about 150 media members.

From Maravich's record, there were 300. It's insanity. At what point do you feel like the country caught Kaitlyn Clark fever? I think it was their run last year to the national championship game. Quite honestly think that the country kind of fell in love with this Iowa women's basketball team.

It was just so pure. They were so fun to watch on the court. I mean the way that they moved the ball, they shared the ball, they have a superstar on their team. Quite honestly, last year they gained so much attention, but this year it is on a whole other level. And how do you see not just Kaitlyn and coach Lisa Bluder, but the rest of the team handle incredible attention?

They are in the center ring of the circus. They have so much poise. They talk about a lot their inner circle and how they kind of block out the noise. And that is so true. That's something that coach Bluder has kind of preached throughout her in 10 years there is just keeping everything within. And I think that has been the key to not only their success on the court, but then also just how they balance everything on the team. Obviously, Kaitlyn is a big, big name. But at the same time, Kaitlyn is the first person to attribute credit to her teammates. And I love the fact that even in that first half when we could see the countdown and we knew she was just 18 points away, she wasn't forcing shots. She wasn't trying to get her shot every time down the court.

And she was content to pass to her teammates. You can tell that this is not just about Kaitlyn Clark. She doesn't want it to be just about her.

Nah, it's about a team and it's about winning. We're kind of all sitting there actually thinking to ourselves, like, does she want to break it? Because she kept kind of feeding just these, you know, Chris passes to her teammates and they were thinking it.

And it's like, well, this is working. Obviously, she's not going to stop doing that. But then, of course, she did get her 18 before the half. But I just think that is Kaitlyn. That is her game. And not only does she, you know, make these logo series, which are just incredible. But I think when you see her passing in person, you kind of ask yourself, how does she do that?

You know, how does she do that and do it so consistently as well? Chelsea Brown is with us from Iowa City, and she's covering this Kaitlyn Clark phenomenon as well as the Hawkeyes, who are top six in the country and come away with a huge win over Ohio State. It was number two.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Yeah, how big that win over the Buckeyes? Oh, this is the kind of momentum that they're going to need. Obviously, avenging a loss against the Buckeyes is they fell in overtime against Ohio State in January.

So you know that they wanted to kind of get over that hump, make sure, you know, we can do this. We can beat this game. Especially heading into the Big Ten tournament, which is something that they have won the past two seasons. They truly do have a target on the back of their back, even though they will be entering as the second seed.

But that tournament is no easy feat to get through. Kaitlyn has announced that she will be departing for the WNBA draft. It's got to feel like this is the perfect window for the Hawkeyes. Considering the group that they put together and how different they will look a season from now.

Yes, very different. I think for so long, there's been such a core group with Kaitlyn Clark and then Gabby Marshall and Kate Martin. You know, those are the starters from last year's national championship run. And then you had Monica Sonano and Makenna Warnock, who were big departures.

And there are a lot of question marks on, you know, what this Hawkeye team would look like without Makenna and Monica. While you're seeing it, they're still doing very well. But this core group is just so special. And not just special because of how they've played together, but just how they've elevated this game, not only in Iowa, but also in the state.

They are phenomenal, phenomenal role models. And this is what I think has kind of followed them and why these little girls are wanting to show up to their games with their signs, their handmade signs. And they're traveling from all over the world. I talked to so many girls. There were girls from Montana today that made it out. There were girls from Utah that came out.

I talked to so many girls. There were girls from Montana today that made it out. There were girls from Utah that got on a plane at 3 a.m. to try and be there for this game.

I mean, they are going through so many hoops to try and be there and try and see this team and then obviously see Kaitlyn Clark. 3,685 career points now, the all-time Division 1 scoring leader in either men's or women's basketball. Who is Kaitlyn Clark when she's not on the court, though, Chelsea? A normal 22-year-old college kid. I know that sounds very silly, but she is a very kind of lighthearted person. She's very fun. Her teammates always describe her as the goofy one, always cracking jokes. Just a couple weeks ago, she's a 22-year-old kid who would love for her mom to come do her laundry some weekends and everything. She's very normal. She's very close with her family, but I just think that she knows she's a superstar.

She understands the responsibility and the pressure that she has on herself, but it truly does not impact her as far as we can see. Any thoughts on her departing for the WNBA draft, knowing that the Fever have the number one overall pick? This is the time right now for the WNBA to truly take a superstar and try and elevate her as much as possible. Quite honestly, I've never seen it with any college athlete where you have a seven-story poster of yourself in downtown Iowa City for an advertisement campaign.

It truly feels like the University of Iowa never says no, and they kind of ask themselves, what can we do next? Kaitlyn, being a Midwest girl, being from Iowa, Iowa is not that far from Indiana if she does go to the Fever. It is really time to capitalize on this moment and see how they can continuously take what she's done and the women's game in college and grow it at the professional level. Chelsea Brown is with us from KCRG where she's a sports reporter and a weekend anchor and has been on this women's basketball beat because it's the biggest thing in sports right now as Kaitlyn Clark has finally caught Pete Maravich. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Iowa has been known for its women's basketball for years. Lisa Bluder and Kaitlyn Clark, they talk about the tradition when they have the microphones in front of their faces, but this is a different type of attention.

Why is Coach Bluder the right person to lead this team through all of this in a pursuit of a championship, but of course all the attention? You're talking about an Iowa girl. She knows exactly how it feels to be Kaitlyn, to have a dream. She even said today that she always had a dream that her staff would fill the Carver-Hawkeye arena with fans. Didn't she think that it was going to reach this scale? Maybe not, but at the same time, Lisa is Iowa through and through, and so why not?

Why not have a person like her who is such a great role model? She always says that she wants to inspire these women to do whatever they want to do in their lives, but she uses basketball for them to get there and for them to understand how they can get there. Any update on Molly Davis, who got hurt in the first half? Yeah, unfortunately Coach Bluder said say some prayers today.

It does look like a knee injury. It did not look good from my viewpoint, and Molly is a very, very tough, tough player. She's battled some injuries throughout her career, so I think the best thing that any Iowa fan right now is to say some prayers as we wait to see what her results will be.

Iowa is obviously one of the top teams in the country. What's the weakness or the Achilles heel for this team as they do pursue a championship? I think sometimes when they don't share the ball, that's kind of when things seem to drop off maybe a little bit. Oftentimes when Kaitlyn's getting face guarded or something, they have to adjust, and when they adjust and when other players are contributing, other players are assisting, making buckets. They're moving the ball. That's when they play their best when they are kind of shut down in that regard. I think that's led to some of their losses this season, and even going back to their Ohio State loss in January, they just kind of let it up. They were up by double digits and just let it up. Yes, of course, there are going to be runs to every basketball game, but at the same time, you can't let that get too deep and let that get in your head, and that's how you can avoid losing at the end of that. Certainly didn't seem like the crowd was going to allow them to have any kind of letdown on Sunday. You could even feel it through the TV, the electricity.

What about celebrity sightings? Anyone that caught your eye since you were on the court covering Sunday's game? I never thought I would be a couple feet away from rapper Travis Scott in the building in Iowa City. I don't know if Travis knew where Iowa was before this, but my goodness, it was so great to see.

Just the support. I mean, he was on his feet the entire game, cheering for everyone. You could hear him going, go CC, go Gabby. It was amazing.

And then, of course, Maya Moore in the house. That was Galen Clark's idol growing up. The Minnesota Lynx legend. That was great.

Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan. Wow. What? In Iowa?

Yeah, crazy. And then everyone loves Jake from State Farm. He's there. He was there, of course, on Sunday. And then, oh, I think a special one was Lynette Woodard. Kaitlyn had just broken her record, so to have her in the house to kind of witness her now breaking Pistol Pete's record. I think that was kind of a special full circle moment for everyone involved.

Chelsea, you're an Iowa alum. What does it mean to you to cover this incredible stretch of history for a talent that's transcended in Kaitlyn Clark? Yeah, I find myself, especially at home games, just soaking it in, like looking up in the stands and seeing how there used to be these black curtains that basically hung. They hung down to kind of block out the fact that there weren't fans behind it, you know, to make it feel like it was a little bit more intimate of a setting.

You don't have that anymore. So every single home game, I just kind of look around and I just see how filled the stands are and to see just the level and interest that this team has grasped, the love that the country kind of has for them. I think that's probably the most special moment for me is just kind of soaking in the growth, especially just when it comes to women's sports. It is certainly a phenomenon and an excitement that has swept the country and more to come for Kaitlyn Clark and the Hawkeyes. And you want to check out Chelsea's Twitter because there are tons of photos and videos there from this event and from the Hawkeyes run at Chelsea, C-H-E-L-S-I-E-T Brown.

And she's the reporter and anchor at KCRG, who is there on the court in Iowa City for Kaitlyn Clark's, well, another one of Kaitlyn Clark's record breaking games. Thank you so much for a couple of minutes, Chelsea. This is great to talk to you. Thank you so much.

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