The University of Iowa women’s basketball game against Ohio State University—in which star Iowa player Caitlin Clark broke the all-time NCAA scoring record—averaged more than 3.3 million viewers on Sunday, making it the most-watched regular season women’s basketball game in 25 years, according to Fox.
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives to the basket as Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon (4) defends ... [+]
The game, in which Iowa won 93-83 and Clark beat the all-time college scoring record held by Pete Maravich, was the most watched regular season women’s game ever on Fox, and the most watched on any network since 1999, when a game between UConn and Tennessee drew in 3.88 million viewers.
Sunday’s matchup also became the second most-watched regular season college basketball game—regardless of gender—this year, behind the men’s Michigan State-Arizona game that aired on Thanksgiving after an NFL game and had an average of 5.18 million viewers, according to Sports Media Watch.
Iowa and Clark easily broke their own record on Sunday, beating the previous viewership record for this season, which was set when an average of 1.86 million people watched Iowa and Ohio State play each other in January, according to NBC.
4.42 million. That was how many people tuned in to the game at its peak viewership, Fox announced Tuesday.
The Iowa-Ohio State game drew more viewers than the Golden State Warriors-Boston Celtics game, which also aired live on Sunday. The Warriors-Celtics matchup drew an average of 3.01 million viewers on ABC, according to Sports Media Watch.
Viewership for Iowa women’s basketball has skyrocketed in recent years, in large part due to Clark. Last year’s women’s college basketball championship—which was an Iowa-Louisiana State University matchup—drew 9.9 million viewers, making it the most watched women’s college basketball game in history. Iowa’s success in viewership and attendance has continued into this season, with the team selling out at least 11 road games this season and selling out nearly all of its home games in Iowa City. Clark declared for the WNBA draft last week, announcing that this season would be her last at Iowa despite having another year of eligibility.