Caitlin Clark showed up on SNL to dunk all over Michael Che

Caitlin Clark showed up on SNL to dunk all over Michael Che

Caitlin Clark, who is expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in Monday’s WNBA draft, deftly skewered “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che in a “Saturday Night Live” appearance, and used the platform to offer a reminder of the many women’s basketball stars who came before her and into the league.

It started when Che joked that the University of Iowa would retire Clark’s No. 22 and have it “replaced with an apron.”

Enter Clark.

Che said he was a fan and Clark replied, “Really, Michael? Because I heard that little apron joke you did.” After that point, she dished out plenty of wise cracks about Che’s past jokes about women’s basketball, which were shown in a supercut introduced by “Weekend Update” co-host Colin Jost. Turnabout is, after all, fair play after the NCAA women’s tournament final games drew more viewers than the men’s.

Among them:

“Netflix’s top new show is ‘Ripley,’ featuring an eerie, unsettling performance by actor Andrew Scott. Critics say it’s’ the hardest thing to watch on Netflix since Michael Che’s special ‘Shame the Devil.’”

“I like that one,” Clark cracked. “There’s more.”

“This year Caitlin Clark broke the record for three-pointers in a single season,” Che said. “And I have three pointers for Michael Che: One, be; two, funnier; three, dumba–.”

It wasn’t all yuks, though. A little less than 48 hours before she begins her pro career, Clark made sure to pay tribute to former WNBA stars, like “Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, the great Dawn Staley and my basketball hero, Maya Moore. These are the women who kicked down the door so I could walk inside.”

There was one last dig, though. “Since you’re such a big fan,” she said to Che, “I brought you a souvenir. It’s an apron signed by me.”

When Che promised to give it to his girlfriend, Clark shot back, “You don’t have a girlfriend, Michael.”

And with that, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer proved there are other high-profile arenas in which she can play.