Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever to play exhibition game at Iowa in May
By Scott Dochterman, Sabreena Merchant and Jenna West
Caitlin Clark is returning to Iowa — this time to play an exhibition game with the Indiana Fever.
The Fever will take on the Brazilian National Team at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on May 4 as part of its preseason schedule, the WNBA team announced Thursday.
Advertisement
The game will pit Fever forward Damiris Dantas, a native of Brazil, against her former squad after she played with the Brazilian National Team in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.
'We couldn't be more excited to play at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and we know Iowa fans will deliver an unforgettable homecoming for Caitlin,' Kelly Krauskopf, the Fever's president of basketball operations, said in a statement. 'Countless Hawkeye fans have become Fever fans, and we consider them family. That's what will make this preseason matchup so special for us.'
Iowa, are you ready? 🔥
we're coming to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a preseason game against the Brazilian National Team on Sunday, May 4!
📝: https://t.co/rVo8mvlxYJ pic.twitter.com/2QYoJ8V5NT
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) January 30, 2025
Clark achieved historic levels of success over her four seasons at Iowa. She scored 3,951 points — the most ever in NCAA men's or women's Division I history. She also broke the record for 3-pointers in a single season, made two national championship appearances and was named the National Player of the Year twice.
Those are just some of her accolades from a career so prolific that Iowa is retiring her No. 22 jersey at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this Sunday after its game against No. 4 USC.
GO DEEPER
Iowa to retire Caitlin Clark's No. 22 jersey in February
In 2024, the Las Vegas Aces took on the Puerto Rico National Team at South Carolina, the alma mater of Aces superstar A'ja Wilson. Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said then, after more than 13,500 people attended the exhibition game, that these types of contests should happen more often, and the Fever are following in those footsteps by bringing a preseason game to Clark's old stomping grounds.
The WNBA has ventured beyond the league's cities in recent seasons, hosting two preseason games in Canada and regular-season games in Boston. Minnesota and Chicago met in Toronto in 2023 (before the announcement of the Tempo as an expansion team); Los Angeles and Seattle faced off in Edmonton in 2024; and the Connecticut Sun had a regular-season game against the Sparks in Boston last season, with another Boston game against Indiana on the docket this year.
Advertisement
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said during the 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend that she admired what the NBA has with its global games platform and would like to expand the WNBA's imprint internationally. She also suggested the league would continue to grow its footprint domestically.
'Do you do neutral sites in the U.S. to test out expansion markets?' Engelbert said. 'That's another option to do either preseason games or regular-season games.' — Sabreena Merchant, WNBA staff writer
Clark's return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for a preseason game will generate plenty of buzz at a location that has become the epicenter of women's basketball. The Hawkeyes have sold all women's basketball tickets for the last two seasons, including Clark's final campaign in 2023-24.
Iowa has experience hosting NBA preseason games, notably Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in 1990. That appearance came a season after the Bulls selected former Iowa standout B.J. Armstrong in the first round.
The Fever's preseason game has the potential to garner more local interest, in a similar fashion to the Crossover at Kinnick exhibition featuring Clark's Hawkeyes against DePaul on Oct. 15, 2023. That event drew 55,646 spectators, the most for a game in women's basketball history. — Scott Dochterman, Iowa beat writer
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Kahleah Copper gives Mercury teammates their flowers after breaking 3-point record
The post Kahleah Copper gives Mercury teammates their flowers after breaking 3-point record appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Phoenix Mercury capped off their road trip with a fourth win in four games. In Kahleah Copper's third game back, she wasn't the lone star. It was everyone. Advertisement In the 107-86 win over the Chicago Sky, Copper herself had 16 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Meanwhile, her Mercury teammates had five more players post in double figures for points. Late in the fourth quarter, center Kalani Brown hit the team's 17th 3-pointer to give the Mercury a new franchise record. As the bench shouted with jubilation, Copper praised her teammates for making history in Chi-town. 'Just a shoutout to my teammates for hitting shots, hitting open shots, hitting contested shots, our post players stepping up. Lani (Brown) got a big one,' Copper said. 'Just a credit to the work that we put in every single day, and then just trusting the process and division, and what the Phoenix Mercury wants to be. And then for this team, a four-game winning streak (to cap off) this kind of hellacious road trip.' Advertisement Saturday's primetime game was one of the few chances this season that the Big 3 have all been on the floor together: Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas joined Copper on the floor. The chemistry, off-ball movement, and picking of their spots were exceptional. They also picked apart Chicago's defense and took advantage of defensive lapses, leading to open triples. The ongoing barrage of treys led to a historic afternoon, and one that put the WNBA world on notice. Kahleah Copper's teammates thought highly of Mercury record © Matt Marton-Imagn Images A 3-point specialist in Sami Whitcomb was a major factor in the historic game. She hit five triples of her own and registered 17 points. Although she had been shooting the ball a bit poorly to start the year, since the road trip, Whitcomb has risen to the occassion. Advertisement The Mercury Big 3 have provided much more space on the floor. Still, the Australian guard is launching shots from well beyond the arc. As a result, her point production has been huge off the bench. Much like Copper, Whitcomb gave praise to the organziation and her teammates for an impressive performance. 'We have a lot of fantastic shooters. I think some as specialists, but I think even players that you may not think of as 3-point shooters. Kalani (Brown), she's a super capable 3-point shooter. 'Everywhere we have that in our spacing, and the players that we have … AT, Satou, and Kah, who can get downhill and are such willing passers, just make it really easy for all of us.' Mercury endured a grueling road trip Within these four games, the team played a back-to-back set in Connecticut and New York. When playing on Wednesday, it was Thomas's emotional return to Connecticut. Advertisement Nearly 24 hours after, they played the best team in the Eastern Conference. However, a Kahleah Copper-less Phoenix team took down the New York Liberty, 89-81. It shocked many, but not the Mercury. Finally, on Saturday, they landed the coup de grâce on an undefeated road trip. A dominant primetime win had head coach Nate Tibbetts excited, but not pleased. Even with the influx of games, Tibbetts joked about using his NBA experience in the former D-League (now G League) as a way to work through multiple games in consecutive nights. Still, he credited one thing, as he has all season for what helped the team endure the tough stretch. 'When you played games back-to-back-to-back and two games and three nights, and just trying to set the tone with your defense,' Tibbetts said. 'I knew that we were going to be tired and a little bit fatigued, but we wanted to try to wake up our bodies … but just to try to get us going. Advertisement 'That was something that was used years ago, that I've always kind of liked and stole from some really good coaches that I got to see at a young age. And our team has bought into that. 'They like being aggressive.' Related: Why Kahleah Copper is comparing Mercury to Sky championship team Related: Sami Whitcomb's off-the-bench record powers Mercury past Sky
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark leads WNBA first returns All-Star voting
After a record-setting rookie season for the Indiana Fever and an impressive start to her 2025 campaign, the WNBA revealed its first return on voting for the 2025 AT&T All-Star Game on Friday, with guard Caitlin Clark leading all players with 515,993 votes. Clark, who missed five games with a left quadriceps strain, averages 19.9 points on 41.7% shooting from the field, 35.5% from 3-point territory, and 79.4% from the free throw line in seven games played so far. Advertisement While the former Hawkeye had an off-performance Thursday night against the Golden State Valkyries, Clark continues to be a driving force behind the Fever's success and the league's television viewership numbers. Just behind Clark atop the first round of All-Star voting is Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (484,758 votes), followed by fellow Fever forward Aliyah Boston (446,961 votes), Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (394,600 votes), and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (367,819 votes) rounding out the top five. Beyond the top five, fellow Fever teammates Kelsey Mitchell (No. 7; 277,664 votes) and Lexie Hull (No. 9; 217,438 votes) also accompany Clark in the group of top-voted players. Advertisement Regarding what makes up the voting numbers, fans account for 50%, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25% each. The fan voting portion of balloting ends Saturday, June 28, at 10:59 p.m. CT. With this year's WNBA All-Star game taking place from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Saturday, July 19, Clark's overwhelming first-place votes are not surprising, considering her iconic global reputation and outstanding on-court performance. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Caitlin Clark leads WNBA first returns All-Star voting
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark grateful for WNBA All-Star Game fan voting support
The WNBA revealed on Friday that Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark leads the league in the first returns of WNBA All-Star Game fan voting. Fever teammates Aliyah Boston (No. 3), Kelsey Mitchell (No. 7) and Lexie Hull (No. 9) join Clark inside the top 10 of the initial fan voting returns. Advertisement While Clark was clear it's not she and the Fever's end goal, Indiana's star guard shared her appreciation for the fan voting that she and her teammates have already received. "I mean, it is what it is, you know. People get so hyped up over that, but, you know, that's not why you play the game. I think it's a fun way to get the fans involved and really passionate about All-Star. It gets them excited. Makes them feel involved. It's a fun aspect to have, but you know, for us as players, that's not the reason you play, and it's really only 50% of the vote. "But it is cool, and it's also cool for me to see how much love my teammates also get. I think we have four in the top 10, so… You know, whether who ends up being an All-Star or not, it's still cool to see the type of love that you get from the fans," Clark said. The voting numbers' makeup is as follows: Fans account for 50%, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25% each. Advertisement Through her seven games played this season, Clark averages 19.9 points, 8.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game on 41.7% shooting from the field, 35.5% from 3-point territory and 79.4% from the free throw line. It looks like the WNBA could be pacing for record fan voting numbers, which Clark is excited to see. "It seems like it's certainly going to set some sort of record for the amount of votes cast compared to last year, if I'm not mistaken. I feel like we're on track for that, which just shows how much engagement we're driving across the league for all different sorts of players and teams. "And, you know, that's exactly what the league needs, is people are excited about that type of stuff and wanting to be involved, feeling like their vote really counts, and feeling like they can make an impact on All-Star Games. So, it's really exciting to see, and hopefully as we continue to grow here year after year after year," Clark said. Advertisement Per the WNBA's website, the fan voting window will close on Saturday, June 28, at 10:59 p.m. CT. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews. This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Caitlin Clark grateful for WNBA All-Star Game fan voting support
