Carver-Hawkeye Arena opened its doors Sunday for Hawkeye fans who couldn’t make the 800-mile journey to Dallas for the Iowa women’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament National Championship Game.

The team’s home arena in Iowa City held a free watch party that kicked off at 1:30 p.m. to see junior guard Caitlin Clark and company square off against third-seeded LSU in the final game of the Hawkeyes’ historic 2023 season.

A watch party was planned for Friday night’s Final Four matchup against the defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks, who the Hawkeyes beat, 77-73, but the event was canceled because of a string of tornadoes hitting Iowa.

But sunny 60-degree weather on Sunday allowed fans to fill the entire east side of the arena — almost half of the arena’s 15,000-person capacity — to watch the game on the jumbotron.

Before the game started, Iowa fans treated this one like any other home game, chanting their usual “Let’s go Hawks” and cheering on their feet as the Hawkeyes’ starting lineup was announced. The band and spirit squad were in full effect, too, including a shirt toss to fans and the full-court putt challenge.

University of Iowa freshmen Jack Maniatis, Nick Buggemi, and Ty Chamberlin attended the watch party to cheer the team on with other Hawkeye fans.

“I got to say, the atmosphere [is why I came],” Maniatis said. “I mean, going to a bar [to watch] is cool, but when you’re with a couple thousand people rooting for the same team, it’s a different feeling.”

The crowd erupted after Clark’s first of eight 3-pointers and for the officiating calls it disagreed with throughout the game. The crowd quieted as LSU guard Jasmine Carson got hot from deep with five threes in the first half alone.

Iowa fans were re-energized as the team mounted a comeback early in the third quarter, but the arena soon feel silent as the Hawkeyes lost hope late in the second half. They quietly exited the arena with their heads hung low as the final buzzer sounded, confirming a 102-85 win and the Tigers’ first national title.

Despite the loss, Buggemi thinks the watch party’s attendance demonstrates the community’s support for the team’s tournament run and, beyond basketball, successful Hawkeye sports teams in general.

“Now seeing this women’s team get to the national stage, especially with Caitlin and all the other girls, rallying around trying to get to this national championship, it’s fun,” Buggemi said. “Everybody just wants to be a part of a winning culture.”

Tracy Walker and her daughter, who is a student at the UI, did not watch the team much this season except for its tournament run, but they attended the watch party for the championship game.

Walker, who lives in Seattle, felt coming to the arena to watch was worth it, and she would certainly do it again.

“I just think it’s a great way to bring the community together and in a nice environment [that is] family friendly [and] easy to get to,” Walker said. “It was a great atmosphere [and] so much fun to have everyone here and together.

Although she was disappointed seniors Monika Czinano and McKenna Warnock ended their Iowa careers this way, Walker looked back on the season with a happier perspective.

“It’s so amazing,” she said. “Honestly, I just think that they should be proud of what they did.”