Albany, Schenectady, Rebecca Lobo: ESPN announcers prompt excitement, ire

She just hits shots from there. At a basket in Albany.

ESPN play-by-play man Ryan Ruocco had a little hyperbolic fun — appropriate considering Clark’s ridiculous 3-point range — when the Iowa superstar nailed a deep 3 from the right wing to start the second half of the Hawkeyes’ victory over LSU in the NCAA Tournament regional final at MVP Arena on Monday night.

Ruocco’s “Oh, my! From Schenectady!” clip quickly hit social media.

The New York state native had ample opportunity to offer a variety of Clark 3-pointer calls, since she hit an NCAA Tournament single-game record nine of them.

The one she hit moments after the second half started set the tone for the third quarter, during which the Hawkeyes took the upper hand, and Ruocco provided a national audience of millions with a little lesson in local geography:

“Here we go, second-half action in Albany. And a trip to the Final Four at stake. Clark … was trying to redirect a pass … Clark … Oh, my! From Schenectady!” he said on the broadcast, as Clark nailed a jumper from 28 feet, well behind the 3-point arc.

“I’m from New York, I live in Westchester [County],” Ruocco shortly after Iowa polished off its 94-87 victory. “I grew up in Dutchess County, in Fishkill, so I’m familiar with upstate New York. Obviously, this is a little farther upstate.”

The broadcast drew an average of 12.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched game in women's college basketball history, surpassing even the championship game between the two teams last year. That number also beat the viewership of the World Series-clinching game and all but one of the five NBA Finals games.

Ruocco said Schenectady was among a few local towns and cities he had on his list in case Clark, known for “logo” 3’s that she launches when her feet are within the centercourt decal, knocked down a long shot.

Clark, who is from Des Moines, Iowa, did her part and gave Ruocco the opportunity.

“I just thought Schenectady has just got a funny, syllabolic ring to it,” he said. “So I decided that’s the one I’m going to choose if she hits a really deep shot, and just went for it.

“I have a few places geographically I thought of, and I thought, if she hits one and it feels right in the moment, I’ll use one of them. And then Schenectady felt right in the moment.”

Those syllables are a reshaped version of the Mohawk “Schau-naugh-ta-da” that described the region when Dutch settlers arrived in the 17th century, and eventually was attached to the spot at the bend in the Mohawk River where Schenectady is located now.

At the top of “The Dan Patrick Show” on Peacock on Tuesday morning, Patrick and his crew addressed the Schenectady reference, Danette Marvin Prince making a comparison that “it’s like if the game was in Detroit, you’d say she hit that from Kalamazoo.”

Ruocco’s broadcast partner on the game call, basketball legend Rebecca Lobo, didn’t quite endear herself so readily to the Capital Region near the end of the game.

With Iowa leading 90-79 and just under 42 seconds on the clock, the camera shot showed Clark’s family beaming in the crowd, to which Ruocco said, “She [Caitlin Clark] told us, ‘They’ve been reaching out to me, and I told them, just go find something to do in Albany. I’m staying in my room and just waiting for the game.’”

To which Lobo said, laughing, “By the way, good luck finding something to do in Albany.”

Naturally, Lobo got lit up on social media, earning the nickname “Rebecca Low-blow.”

On X, Mayor Kathy Sheehan offered to give Lobo a tour of the city.

It didn’t take long for Lobo to attempt damage control.

Falling short of an apology, she posted this message on social media a few hours later:

“I’ve spent many fun-filled weekends in the Albany area over the years coaching my kids AAU teams.

“No shade intended towards the capital city, and the outstanding job they did hosting this regional.”