Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese hope to carry over college momentum to the WNBA

NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and a deep WNBA draft class hope the momentum they created lifting women’s college basketball to new heights carries over to the pros.

“We’re not just basketball players, we’re super impactful to the community, the people around us, the little kids that look up to us, and being able to also be nationwide, everybody knows us everywhere we go,” Reese said Monday night after the Chicago Sky selected the former LSU star with the No. 7 pick. “Our lives aren’t normal. We might get a little bit of normalcy going into the league now, but I’m just excited to be a trailblazer. I’m excited to be a part of history, and just continue to see the future, and I know it’s bright.”

They'll need to perform on the court for that momentum to continue at the next level and boost the league, which is coming off its own strong year. The WNBA just had its most-watched season in 21 years, averaging 462,000 viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and CBS.

The league also had its most-watched Finals in 20 years, which featured Las Vegas and New York and was won by the Aces. Viewership was up 36% from the previous season. The league’s attendance rose 16% — its highest figure since 2018. Throw Clark into the mix and that number could grow exponentially.

The potential impact of this draft class wasn't lost on WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

“I would be remiss not to mention the incredible excitement and energy for women’s basketball that this group has helped build,” she said. “It’s so clear that this draft class is entering the WNBA at an incredible time. We are witnessing a transformational moment in sports that we may not experience for generations.”

Clark, who finished her collegiate career as NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader, has helped bring millions of fans to the women's game with her signature shots from the midcourt logo and dazzling passing ability. The Iowa star was a big reason why a record 18.9 million viewers tuned in to the NCAA championship game, which the Hawkeyes lost to unbeaten South Carolina.

“It's still hard for me to wrap my head around,” Clark said of the ratings, which peaked at 24 million viewers for the title game.

Clark, who grew up in Iowa, said after being chosen by the Indiana Fever with the No. 1 pick that she was happy to go to another basketball-crazed state.

“I can’t imagine a more perfect fit, a better place for me to start my professional career, an organization that really just believes in women’s basketball and wants to do everything the right way,” she said. “So I couldn’t be more excited to get there.”

The Fever taking Clark had been a foregone conclusion since she announced on Feb. 29 she would turn pro. Nearly 17,000 tickets were claimed to watch the draft at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home to the Fever and the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.

The ticket site StubHub said it already has seen a huge surge in demand for tickets, with overall sales for the Fever up 13 times over last year's start. The team still hasn't said how many tickets it sold this season.

Clark and Cameron Brink, who went No. 2 to the Los Angeles Sparks, have said many times that it would be wrong not to honor those who came before them and helped paved the way.

“I just want to continue the legacy of growing the sport, and I feel like I’ve said this a lot today, but we really have to look back at the women before us, and I know people keep saying this is a historic draft class, but there were many, many talented draft classes before us,” Clark said.

“I just want to give my props to the Dawn Staleys, Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslies because they are why I’m here, because I watched them growing up. I just hope that I can continue that legacy for younger girls.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark reacts during an interview during the WNBA basketball draft Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

CORRECTS TO CAITLIN CLARK NOT CAITLYN CLARK - Iowa's Caitlin Clark, left, greets WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, right, after being selected first overall by the Indiana Fever during the first round of the WNBA basketball draft, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

LSU's Angel Reese, right, is helped off the stage after being selected seventh overall by the Chicago Sky during the first round of the WNBA basketball draft on Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

CORRECTS TO CAITLIN CLARK NOT CAITLYN CLARK - Iowa's Caitlin Clark, left, poses for a photo with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, right, after being selected first overall by the Indiana Fever during the first round of the WNBA basketball draft, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

CORRECTS TO CAITLIN CLARK NOT CAITLYN CLARK - LSU's Angel Reese, left, and Iowa's Caitlin Clark, right, pose for a photo before the WNBA basketball draft, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

CORRECTS TO CAITLIN CLARK NOT CAITLYN CLARK - From left to right, LSU's Angel Reese, Iowa's Caitlin Clark and Stanford's Cameron Brink pose for a photo before the WNBA basketball draft, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

PARIS (AP) — French actor Gérard Depardieu will face a criminal trial in October over the alleged sexual assaults in 2021 of two women on the set of a film, prosecutors announced Monday.

The 75-year-old actor, who previously has denied any wrongdoing, was detained for questioning by police in Paris for several hours earlier Monday. His lawyer, Christian Saint-Palais, later declined to comment to reporters other than to say that the actor was no longer in custody.

The Paris public prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the actor has been “summoned to appear before the criminal court” after the questioning.

A trial will start in October “for sexual assaults likely to have been committed in September 2021” against “two victims, on the set of the film ‘The Green Shutters,’ ” the statement said. It did not name the alleged victims.

French newspaper Le Parisien has reported that a 53-year-old movie decorator has alleged that Depardieu grabbed her and kneaded her waist, stomach and breasts during filming for “Les Volets verts,” or “The Green Shutters,” according to the woman’s lawyer, Carine Durrieu Diebolt, when she filed the complaint to the Paris prosecutor’s office in February.

In an open letter last October, Depardieu said: “I have never, ever abused a woman.”

Depardieu has also been accused by more than a dozen other women of harassing, groping or sexually assaulting them. He was handed preliminary rape and sexual assault charges in 2020 following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould.

In that case, the investigating judge completed his probe on April 17 and transferred the file to the Paris public prosecutor’s office “to review and determine next steps in the proceeding,” the prosecutor's office said Monday.

Depardieu was long seen as a national icon in France. He has been a global ambassador for French film and enjoyed international fame with several roles in Hollywood.

The latest episode involving Depardieu came as French cinema is roiled by a #metoo awakening following actor Judith Godrèche’s call for France’s film industry to “face the truth” on sexual violence and physical abuse. She made that appeal during a live broadcast in February of the Cesar Awards ceremony, France’s version of the Oscars.

Barbara Surk reported from Nice, France. AP writer John Leicester in Le Pecq, France, contributed.

Reporters wait outside the police station where French actor Gerard Depardieu is being questioned, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. French media are reporting that police have summoned actor Gerard Depardieu for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

French actor Gerard Depardieu's lawyer Christian Saint-Palais returns at the police stations Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. French media are reporting that police have summoned actor Gerard Depardieu for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

French actor Gerard Depardieu's lawyer Christian Saint-Palais answers a call Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. French media are reporting that police have summoned actor Gérard Depardieu for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Police officers stand outside the police station where French actor Gerard Depardieu is expected to be questioned, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. French media are reporting that police have summoned actor Gérard Depardieu for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

View of the police station where French actor Gerard Depardieu is expected to be questioned, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. French media are reporting that police have summoned actor Gérard Depardieu for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

FILE - Actor Gerard Depardieu addresses the media during the press conference for the film 'Saint Amour' at the 2016 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. French media are reporting that police have summoned actor Gérard Depardieu for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. Broadcaster BFMTV and the daily Le Parisien both reported that the 75-year-old actor was called in for police questioning in Paris on Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Axel Schmidt, File)