Caitlin Clark's 2025 WNBA preseason debut was played at the University of Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena, a building in which Clark made many memories throughout her storied college career.
The Indiana Fever returned to Iowa City for an exhibition showdown against the Brazilian National Team earlier in May, and Clark put on a show in front of an adoring crowd. Indiana turned in a dominant 108–44 victory, and Clark provided 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including four made threes, along with five assists and six rebounds.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated on behalf of State Farm's "With the Assist" platform, Clark revealed her mindset heading into the game and why the showdown at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was such a special occasion for her to share with her teammates.
"It's kind of weird. I felt like I was back in college for the day, but it was really fun to go back there and play in front of those fans. A lot of those fans that maybe wouldn't have the opportunity to travel to a WNBA city and see a WNBA basketball game. So, it was really fun for us to go back there and fun to share that experience with my teammates," Clark told SI.
"They all kind of were wide-eyed and like, 'Wow, this place is pretty crazy.' And when we started that game on that 8–0 run within like 30 seconds, it got really, really loud. I think that was maybe one of the louder points of the game. I know they had a really good time. It was special," Clark said.
During that game, Clark drained a jaw-dropping three from roughly 36-feet away from the basket, just behind the No. 22 logo which marks the spot in which Clark broke the NCAA's all-time women's scoring record. When asked about her decision to pull up from her own logo, Clark said it just happened in the spur of the moment.
"It kind of just happened. I didn't really have a plan to do that, it was more like [coach Stephanie White] told me I was gonna come out at the next dead ball, so I was like, I might as well just get one more up. And then it kind of worked out well, it was a 2 for 1 situation, so, I had my chance and luckily I made it, I guess," Clark told SI.
Pulling up from long range is nothing new for Clark, who has never shied away from taking a deep three when the opportunity presents itself. It was no different during the exhibition game, as the 23-year-old let one fly from her own logo and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Caitlin Clark Discusses Returning to Iowa for Fever Preseason Game, Shooting From Logo.
