Caitlin Clark rose to national prominence as an Iowa Hawkeyes point guard before becoming a WNBA star for the Indiana Fever. Clark surpassed legendary LSU Tigers standout Pete Maravich to become the NCAA’s all-time top scorer during her four years of college, from 2020 to 2024. Additionally, she guided Iowa to consecutive trips to the national championship.
Another important factor in Iowa’s recent success was Gabbie Marshall. But after graduating from college, the 24-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio, made the decision to give up basketball. In Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season, Marshall returned home to watch the Cincinnati Bengals fall to the Baltimore Ravens 41-38 in overtime.
The Bengals posted a photo of Marshall tailgating outside of Paycor Stadium onto their Instagram account and Clark took notice, leaving her former teammate a message.
“Spirit animal,” Clark captioned her Instagram story. “Go Chiefs.” Marshall followed up by firing back with her own team’s chant. “WHO DEY!!!!!” Marshall wrote.
Between 2019 and 2024, Marshall participated in 166 Iowa games, starting 137 of them. She averaged 6.6 points on 40.6% shooting, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 27.7 minutes per game. Marshall may have chosen to attend the best NFL game of the season, despite the fact that her team lost. Before the Ravens were able to equal the score in the last 5:24 of the game, Cincinnati had a 10-point advantage in the fourth quarter.
In overtime, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson fumbled, giving the Bengals great field position to secure the win. However, on a 53-yard attempt, the holder muffed the snap, causing the kicker to miss it. The Ravens scored and won on the next drive.
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