Caitlin Clark made a big return to the University of Iowa and Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday.
Clark and her Indiana Fever teammates faced the Brazilian national team in an exhibition contest, coming away with a 108-44 victory. The game was Clark’s first action of 2025, as she previously sat out Indiana’s WNBA preseason opener on Saturday afternoon with an undisclosed lower leg injury.
Clark scored 16 points, dished out five assists and grabbed six rebounds, earning raucous cheers from the home crowd throughout the day. The highlight of the afternoon was Clark’s final bucket, a shot that came from approximately 36 feet out, farther than her basket that broke the NCAA scoring record in 2024.
“I haven’t played [a game] in, like 200 days, so I was a little nervous going in,” Clark admitted. “The competitive spirit in me — you just want to play really good for these fans.”
On Instagram Monday evening, Clark shared a series of photos from what she called a “special” day.
Clark’s return to Iowa was one of several “homecoming” games for WNBA stars this preseason.
The Las Vegas Aces and Dallas Wings played at Notre Dame on Friday, which marked a return to South Bend for former Fighting Irish stars Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young.
That same night, the Chicago Sky faced the Brazilian national team at LSU, a chance for Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith to play once again in Baton Rouge.
As for the Fever playing at Iowa, head coach Stephanie White called the atmosphere “electric.”
“I thought it was electric,” White said. “To actually feel the energy, it gives you a lift. It’s why we all do what we do, to feed [off of] these kinds of environments. Oftentimes, it’s difficult for fans to get to a WNBA city, and we have great college basketball fan bases throughout the country that deserve an opportunity to see these women doing what they do at the highest level.”
The Fever have one more preseason game left, against the Atlanta Dream this Saturday.
Indiana will open the 2025 season against the Sky on Saturday, May 17.
