Caitlin Clark is still, somehow, full of surprises. During her return to Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Indiana Fever superstar decided to treat fans when she knocked down a shot from even further back than her record-breaking “22” logo spot. The lucky 15,000 people in attendance got a front-row seat to what may officially be Clark's final basket on a court she calls home.
The 23-year-old knew she wanted to leave her loyal Iowa women's basketball fans with one last cherished memory of her spectacular live performances. “[Head coach Stephanie White] said, ‘I'm going to take you out,'” Clark said as she described her thoughts in the stunning moment.
“That means I can get a quick shot up. So I was like ‘Ah, why not?' They let me dribble into it, and I'm always further back than I actually think. But yeah, I'm happy it went in,” she finished with a smile.
Related Indiana Fever NewsArticle continues below
The bucket was basically a recreation of Clark's shot that broke the NCAA's DI scoring record just over a year ago, passing the late great Pete Maravich's 3,667. Clark ended her Hawkeyes tenure with a new record-setting mark of 3,951 — 49 points shy of a mind-blowing 4,000 career college points.
Clark put up 16 points, six rebounds, five assists, and a block in 19 minutes before exiting the game against the Brazil women's national team. Her 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range helped lift the Fever to a dominating 108-44 victory.
The Fever are coming off a short playoff stint to cap off the 2024 season, falling to the Connecticut Sun in the first round. They bounced back by locking down an impressive haul of veterans in the offseason to surround Clark with, including DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard, in addition to the players who round out the team's young core, like Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell.
Now, the former Hawkeye star and Indiana have their sights set on a WNBA championship run. The Fever will close out the W's preseason on May 10 against the Atlanta Dream before prepping for the regular-season opening showdown with Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky.
