Iowa basketball legend Caitlin Clark is the biggest name in women’s basketball. So much so that the Indiana Fever sold out a preseason game at Clark’s alma mater.
In typical fashion, Clark drained a long-distance three-pointer, and it caught the eye of a former Hawkeye, George Kittle’s wife, Claire Kittle.
Claire Kittle Has Great Reaction to Caitlin Clark’s Long-Range 3
Clark is the face of women’s basketball. She led Iowa to back-to-back national championship game appearances and was named Player of the Year in each of her final two college seasons.
She drove national television ratings during her time at Iowa, and left school as the women’s NCAA D1 career-leader in points per game with 28.4. Clark was the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft and led the Fever to the playoffs in her rookie season.
The Iowa product averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game, and shot 41.7% from the field last year en route to Rookie of the Year honors. Clark was also named an All-Star and first-team All-WNBA. She even finished fourth in MVP voting.
Clark and the Fever have begun their 2025 preseason schedule and had a special opportunity to play the Brazil National Team at Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Clark returned to her old stomping grounds and put on a show for the sold-out crowd.
Late in the third quarter, Clark dribbled up the left side of the court and began gathering as soon as she passed half court. There’s a marker on Iowa’s floor signifying where Clark broke the NCAA all-time scoring record, but the Fever guard pulled up a couple of feet behind it and launched another rainbow three-pointer.
The route was already on, as Indiana led Brazil by 55 points when Clark took the shot. She naturally hit nothing but net, and the Hawkeye faithful went wild. Another former Iowa basketball player couldn’t watch live, but Claire Kittle posted the highlight of the shot with a caption on her Instagram story.
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Claire’s caption read, “I was traveling when this was happening, but need to take a moment to acknowledge yet again the absolute legend @caitlinclark22 is. How freaking cool is this?”
Kittle played for the Hawkeyes into her senior year, but a chronic knee injury forced her to stop playing. However, it didn’t stop her from throwing praise to the greatest player in Iowa basketball history.
Seerat Shoi of The Ringer reported that the average ticket price for the Fever’s exhibition game was $440 and that tickets sold out just 37 minutes after going on sale. The effect Clark has had on the WNBA after only one season has been astronomical. The game was never close, with Indiana winning 108-44, but it drew 1.3 million viewers.
Clark is already a superstar and moments like this will continue to draw fans to women’s basketball.