Iowa Star’s Most Iconic Home-Court Moments Before Senior Day

Caitlin Clark’s first college basketball game was played inside a nearly empty Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where cardboard cutouts dotted the stands—taking the place of fans who weren’t permitted to fill the venue’s seats at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. Circumstances couldn’t be more different for what could be a signature Senior Day celebration.

The fourth-year Iowa women’s basketball phenom declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft on Thursday (to the delight of the Indiana Fever), so Sunday’s sold-out 1 p.m. ET contest against No. 2 Ohio State will act as Clark’s final regular season college home game.

And the decision cleared the way for Clark to make the best out of her few remaining Hawkeye moments.

“I think just going into senior night, having that decision clear—not only for myself but our fans, my teammates—I think that was super important,” Clark, this year’s presumed No. 1 draft pick, said Friday ahead of No. 6 Iowa’s regular-season finale at Carver. “Just getting the weight of the world off my shoulders and being able to enjoy this last month with my teammates I think is the biggest thing…I think just really enjoying that and soaking that in is my biggest focus.”

There will certainly be plenty to soak in Sunday.

Thousands of Hawkeye fans, some paying thousands for a sought-after ticket, will pack into Carver-Hawkeye. Nike billboards and banners are sprinkled throughout Iowa City in the Iowa star’s honor. Clark is only 18 points away from passing Pete Maravich as the NCAA Division I basketball all-time leading scorer—in men’s or women’s hoops. ESPN’s College GameDay is on-hand, plus Maya Moore—one of Clark’s basketball heroes—stopped by before tip-off to say hello. Even Jake from State Farm wants to witness this one. And a signature win ahead of March Madness would only emphasize a Senior Day ceremony highlighting Clark’s many achievements in Iowa City.

This isn’t quite a sendoff yet. Iowa, likely a No. 2 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament (with a shot at a No. 1), will still host up to two postseason games. So Clark’s Carver career won’t end Sunday, but the stage is set for more memorable home-court moments that have been plentiful over four years in Iowa City.

Ahead of Clark’s regular-season finale at Carver, here are five standout moments over an iconic career on Iowa’s home court.

Hawkeye Debut Early Indication of Greatness—11/25/20

Fans may not have had the luxury of seeing Clark play in-person for most of her freshman season in the black and gold. But No. 22’s performance in game No. 1 was an early indication to Hawkeye nation that this highly touted recruit from West Des Moines would well be worth the price of admission moving forward.

Clark dropped 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting in her collegiate debut—a home win against Northern Iowa. The sharpshooting guard hit three 3-pointers in a career that would eventually be full of them, plus stuffed the stat sheet with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Signature moments in an unprecedented career would soon be on the way for a basketball icon whose legend continues to grow each additional step on the court.

After this night in November nearly four years ago, that may not have been a surprise to hear.

The Shot Heard Around the Basketball World—2/26/23

Only 1.5 seconds remained. Iowa trailed by two. But the Hawkeyes had possession, and Clark was going to get a shot. And she didn’t waste it.

The eventual National Player of the Year caught an inbound pass just beyond the 3-point line, turned toward the basket and fired away. Swish. Clark drained a buzzer-beater to knock off No. 2 Indiana 86-85 and send Carver (plus Patrick Mahomes, George Kittle and others in a star-studded lineup tuning in) into a frenzy. Iowa’s eventual scoring leader sprinted toward Hawkeye fans, with her teammates in pursuit, as soon as the shot went in, and finished with 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in an unforgettable day in Iowa City.

Breaking NCAA Attendance Record—10/15/23

Technically this one occurred at Kinnick Stadium, not Carver-Hawkeye Arena. But a home court is a home court, right? Iowa set the NCAA women’s basketball attendance record by drawing a crowd of 55,646 for a preseason exhibition on the gridiron against DePaul. And the history-making crowd wasn’t disappointed in what it saw.

Clark tallied, as she has on seemingly every other night throughout her time in Iowa City, a triple-double—34 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists—in a 94-72 Hawkeye victory.

New Year, Same Clark—1/2/24

Some nights, not even the clock can stop Clark.

The reigning Naismith Player of the Year caught a pass, took a quick dribble and stepped back to heave a 3-pointer from the Tigerhawk logo in a tied game against Michigan State on the second day of the new year. The result was all too familiar. Clark’s shot went in to seal a 76-73 Iowa win, after which she hit her equivalent of the Michael Jordan shrug while calling for more love from the packed crowd. The senior hit eight 3-pointers in total on her way to scoring 40—one of 12 40-point performances in an Iowa uniform so far for Clark.

NCAA Record, From the Logo—2/15/24

Clark pulled up from—where else?—the logo in transition to fire up a 35-footer that, once it found the bottom of the net, secured her place in scoring history. The All-American’s first-quarter heave against Michigan last month pushed her past Kelsey Plum as the all-time points leader in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history. Clark went on to score a career-high and Carver-Hawkeye Arena venue record 49 points on the night (16-of-31 shooting, 9-of-18 from 3).

Only a few games later, Clark also passed former Kansas standout Lynette Woodard for the major college women’s scoring mark. Jumping Pistol Pete to set the overall NCAA scoring standard could serve as a fitting regular-season end to a career full of endless new highs for Clark.