Local athletes see boost in women's sports thanks to Caitlin Clark's star power

AVERILL PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Basketball fans and players are descending on the Capital Region ahead of Friday's NCAA Tournament. Thursday afternoon, the Iowa team boarded a plane bound for Albany. The player to watch is Caitlin Clark, who is changing the game for women's sports.

Many student athletes in the Capital Region have their tickets ready for this weekend, including student athletes from the Averill Park Women's Basketball team.

Caitlin Clark's name has been on the tip of everyone's tongue. College basketball's leading scorer is set to take the court at MVP arena on Saturday.

"I'm gonna go with my family, so it'll be cool. Caitlin Clark will be really cool to watch," said student athlete, Kayleigh Ahern.

Lily Wohlleber, another teammate and junior at Averill Park, added, "I think it's very inspiring for young girls to see them, and now they are so close, everyone can come watch them."

Clark's star power providing the push for young girls turned student athletes to shoot for the stars.

Wohlleber said, "It's very inspiring. Makes me want to work harder and get better."

Ahern added, "It's really cool. This is a sport we all love. It's cool to see someone who strives to be so good at it."

Clark has helped put women's sports in the spotlight. "Just the growth. Women are finally getting credit for what they're doing and seeing how many people are excited, it's just crazy," said Arianna Verardi.

Come game time, all the action will unfold live, in-person instead of just on a TV-set for these girls.

"I think it's so cool. We see the players on TV, but to have them in our hometown, that's just amazing," Verardi explained.

The tournament kicks off Friday at MVP arena.