SAD NEWS: Kaitlin Clark has officially left the team after…

There were mostly smiles from Caitlin Clark after Sunday’s national championship game, an 87-75 loss to South Carolina that ended her Iowa career.

She admitted the finality of this part of her journey would hit her in the next 48 hours or so, but for the moment, still sitting in her black and gold Iowa uniform, her overwhelming emotion was gratitude.

Clark opted to stay in her home state for college, even though Iowa had been to only one Final Four: in 1993, nine years before Clark was born.

But Sunday, Clark was thinking more about the entirety of her college career.

“Whether it’s the way the fans have supported me, the way I’ve been able to represent my state where I grew up, my family being at every single game there’s not a regret in my mind of how things went,” Clark said. “I’ll be able to sleep every night even though I never won a national championship.

“I don’t sit and sulk about the things that never happened. My mom always taught me, ‘Keep your head high, be proud of everything that you’ve accomplished.’ And, you know, I think I’m so hungry for a lot more, too.”

Clark is the overwhelming favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever on April 15. She was asked if knowing that she will start another season in about five weeks made the conclusion of her college career any easier.

“I think it helps,” Clark said. “What better way to train and prepare for my next step in life than playing in the Final Four? I’ll be able to play my first WNBA game here soon.

“These moments are going to make me ready for the next chapter on my life, but also [I want to] enjoy this one, too.”

Iowa did just about everything the past two seasons except win the NCAA title. Last year, the Hawkeyes upset 36-0 South Carolina in the semifinals.

This year, they beat defending national champion LSU in the Elite Eight and 11-time NCAA champion UConn in the Final Four.

“It’s really hard to win these things. I think I probably know that better than most people by now,” Clark said. “To be so close twice, it definitely hurts.

But at the same time, we were right there. We battled. We took down some really great teams to get back to this point.”

Clark had 30 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists Sunday. She started out hot in the first quarter with 18 points, but South Carolina’s defense got better after that.