IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark made the shot everybody got here to see.
HT Picture
Clark stopped late within the third quarter of Sunday’s WNBA preseason recreation between the Indiana Fever and the Brazilian nationwide group and launched a 3-pointer close to the “22” emblem on Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Enviornment court docket. It was the spot the place she hit the shot in her senior season in 2024 that made her the all-time main scorer in NCAA ladies’s basketball, and naturally it went in.
This shot, with 25 seconds left within the third quarter, capped Clark’s return to the sector the place she broke information on her solution to changing into the NCAA Division I all-time scoring chief.
Clark, beginning her second season with the Fever, scored 16 factors in Indiana’s 108-44 win.
Clark’s day was bookended by photographs that have been paying homage to her profession with Iowa’s ladies’s basketball group — her first 3-pointer got here from the tip of the beak on Iowa’s “Tigerhawk” emblem at midcourt 34 seconds into the sport.
And after each photographs went in, the gang response sounded similar to all of the photographs she made in entrance of sellout crowds as she led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back appearances within the NCAA nationwide championship recreation in her closing two seasons.
Clark, coping with a leg harm that saved her out of Saturday’s preseason opener in opposition to the Washington Mystics, performed nearly 19 minutes, and that was sufficient to please the capability crowd of 15,400. She completed the sport making 6 of 10 photographs, and added six rebounds and 5 assists.
It was Clark’s second recreation again on the area since she left the Hawkeyes — she had her jersey No. 22 retired in a ceremony after Iowa’s 76-69 win over USC on Feb. 2.
“I’ve told my teammates they’re going to be here cheering for me, yes, but they’re also going to be here cheering for you and our entire team,” Clark mentioned earlier than the sport. “And I think that’s what’s so great about these fans, is they really rally around the entire team. It’s not just myself, and that’s what I love about it.”
Clark was greeted with a loud ovation when she took the court docket earlier than the sport, and the noise continued all through the day. The gang noise for Clark’s pregame introduction reached 116 decibels, and the primary 3-pointer recorded 117-decibel applause.
That sort of a response wasn’t a shock to Fever coach Stephanie White.
“I’ve seen the Caitlin Clark stuff from the outside looking in and being on the television side and certainly being an opponent,” mentioned White, who known as a few of Clark’s video games whereas working at ESPN and went in opposition to her final season because the coach of the Connecticut Solar. “For us to be able to bring Caitlin back here and to bring our team here to experience this fan base, it’s an incredible opportunity.”
Iowa coach Jan Jensen had the identical response.
“We’re just proud that we can fill this place up in May,” she mentioned. “Are you kidding me?”
The occasion grew to become a scorching ticket as quickly because it was introduced earlier this yr. The typical paid value of $440 per ticket on the secondary market this week made it essentially the most in-demand occasion involving Clark, in line with ticketing know-how firm Victory Stay, which analyzes gross sales throughout the secondary market. Asking costs on the secondary market Wednesday ranged from $146 to $2,368.
Clark made it clear earlier than the sport she was going to play regardless of the harm, though it was obvious the harm was nonetheless a difficulty — when she got here out of the sport within the first half she went to the tunnel behind the Fever bench to journey a stationary bike.
“It sucked being on the sideline yesterday, but obviously, it’s probably just the best decision in the preseason,” Clark mentioned.
Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 17 factors. Aliyah Boston added 11.
Clark left the sport after making that final shot, and as she bought to the bench waved to the gang, encouraging one final cheer.
“That’s my goal,” Clark mentioned earlier than the sport. “Get them involved, get them loud.”
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