Sights and sounds: Caitlin Clark’s return to Iowa

“Honestly, I didn’t plan to shoot that logo three,” Clark told reporters after the game. “I know, coming into the game, everybody wanted me to shoot one from there. I was like, ‘ah, why not? Might as well launch one’ and then it went in … You don’t always realize how far back you are. I had to give the fans a little something.” 

While Fever coach Stephanie White may have called another play for Clark, she didn’t mind the logo three. 

“I’ve been watching her do it for four years, five years, really. So that’s just who she is. It’s what she does,” White told reporters after the game. “Nobody tells Steph Curry not to take good shots, right? She knew she was coming out of the game, so she was going to take that logo three. It was a good momentum-builder, and, of course, what everybody wants to see from Caitlin, especially in this arena.”

The former Iowa Hawkeye, whose No. 22 was raised to the rafters in February, didn’t disappoint in her first appearance in a WNBA game since last fall. She scored 16 points and added 6 rebounds and 5 assists in 19 minutes in the Fever’s dominating 108-44 win. 

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Clark, who was held out of Saturday’s preseason game against the Washington Mystics due to tightness in her left leg, started the Fever’s scoring barrage on Sunday with a 3-pointer, sending the sold-out crowd of nearly 15,000 fans into a frenzy. 

Less than 15 seconds later, Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, who led the Fever with 17 points, made a steal and hit her own 3-pointer. Center Aliyah Boston rounded out the Fever’s scoring in the first minute of the game with a putback layup. 

It didn’t seem to matter that in college, Mitchell played for Iowa’s Big Ten rival Ohio State, or that Boston battled with South Carolina against Iowa in the 2023 National Championship. They all received rousing ovations from a crowd decked out in a combination of Fever red and Hawkeye gold. 

Sophie Cunningham, who played her last game in a Missouri uniform in 2019 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a second-round NCAA tournament loss to Iowa, was also a fan favorite in her new Fever uniform. 

Clark isn’t surprised that many of the Hawkeye faithful are now full-fledged Fever fans. 

“I 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 said before the game. “I think that’s what’s so great about these fans … they really rally around the entire team. It’s not just myself, and that’s what I love about them … I wouldn’t expect anything else.” 

With Clark out the entire fourth quarter and the Fever up by an average of 60 points, the majority of the crowd stayed until the final buzzer. 

As the seconds ticked down, many fans rushed to the tunnel area to secure a spot for a post-game autograph or picture with the players. Even members of the Brazilian team lined up for autographs from Clark and took selfies, which Clark said only helps to grow the game.

“Just getting to interact with the Brazilian national team after the game … how thankful they are for not only what I’ve done, but my teammates have done what the WNBA has done to grow the game of basketball and provide them opportunities like this,” she said. “I was talking to a couple of them and asked, ‘is this the most fans you’ve ever played in front of?’ And they said, ‘yeah.’ It just provides more opportunities for all people.” 

Clark is aware of the profound influence she has had on women’s sports and on the younger generation. 

“Just seeing the amount of people and young girls and young boys that stand there and scream for me to sign their stuff, I don’t take that for granted,” she said. “I would be lying to you if I thought that was just like normal, and everybody gets to do that; they don’t. I’m glad I can be a role model for them. They have a great impact on me too. That’s why you do it.”

An anticipated event

In keeping with the Iowa folklore that, “if you build it [or open it, in this case], they will come,” the parking lots on the University of Iowa campus opened at 11 a.m. for the 3 p.m. game. Some fans who came early to secure spots fired up their grills and cracked open a beverage to tailgate on the mild May morning. 

Others lined up in front of the arena to get in right when the doors opened at 1 p.m. 

Iowa season ticket holders Gina Sargent-Sisk and her family, from Keokuk, Iowa, arrived around 11:30 a.m. to be first in line. 

While she has always been a basketball fan, Sargent-Sisk admits she watches women’s games more often now that Clark has come on the scene — especially the WNBA. Last season, her family traveled to Chicago and Indianapolis to catch Fever games.

“Now we are trying to see every game that we can get to or on TV,” she told The Next.  

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Sargent-Sisk keeps tabs on the Fever and is excited about their upcoming season. 

“After watching the first preseason game, Sophie really did a nice job,” she said. “She came out really aggressive. I love the way the team looks this year; they have each other’s backs.

“Lexie Hull is amazing, aggressive, good defense,” Sargent-Sisk continued. “I love that they added [DeWanna] Bonner to the team as well. Mitchell is gonna do her thing every night. And then, of course, Boston — great player, great player.”

The arena was full about 30 minutes before tipoff, and fans watched both teams warm up. Cheers erupted as Hawkeye favorites like former guard Gabbie Marshall and former head coach Lisa Bluder were spotted walking in and taking their seats.  

During a timeout in the fourth quarter, Iowa head coach Jan Jensen and her team were introduced on the court. 

“How happy are we to have back our No. 22?” Jensen asked the roaring crowd. “We’re so grateful for everything that Caitlin and her teammates did to help fill this arena. And they stood on the shoulders of everyone, from Megan Gustafson to the Vivian Stringer era. We’re so thankful for your support last season and we want to sell it out again … Let’s keep it rolling.”

Former UConn and New York Liberty legend Rebecca Lobo called the game with Ryan Ruocco for ESPN. This was just the second time she had called a WNBA preseason game on ESPN — and her first live.

“The last preseason game we did was when the New York Liberty played the Chinese national team [in 2019]. We actually broadcast it out of Bristol [Connecticut],” Lobo told The Next. “We weren’t even there, but we were broadcasting the game. So this is a really cool environment. It’s just fun to see how the game has really exploded, and how people are really paying attention at a different level now.”

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