LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Simone Biles.
Serena and Venus Williams.
A’ja Wilson.
Caitlin Clark.
You don’t have to be an avid sports fan to know those names. They’re some of the greatest female athletes of all time, showing that sports aren’t just for men.
As the NCAA Tournament heats up, there’s one name you can count on hearing: Caitlin Clark.
The 22-year old Iowa star continues to break records, most recently becoming the all-time NCAA scoring leader. She broke Pete Marvich’s 54-year-old record, which was set over three seasons at Louisiana State University (1967-1970).
It’s athletes like Clark that set an example for young women, showing that all records are meant to be broken.
We caught up with several Las Vegas athletes to see what they had to say about having prolific female athletes to inspire them.
“I feel like it’s really important because it’s kind of like what our age group is growing up into,” Mia Ervin said. “To see those women do it, how they do it now, just inspires us more and gives us the confidence that we can do it as well.”
“It just shows how much you can do, as a women, in these male-dominated parts of sports,” Quinn Steidler told us.
We also spoke with them about the success of the Las Vegas Aces and UNLV Lady Rebels and what it’s like having those examples in their own backyard.
“Them in town, having them locally is really impactful. It makes me wanna grow up and be like them. I see them as my leaders and I hope other girls here see them as their leaders too,” Iyanais Vincent said.
“It’s been really cool. All the games and parades have been really accessible to us. So we’ve been able to go to the Mountain West Tournament Championship as well as the Aces playoff games,” Steidler said. “It’s been really great seeing all these women doing stuff so close to home. It’s been really inspirational.”