DES MOINES — Since the Iowa women’s basketball schedule was announced earlier this year, Caitlin Clark has had Saturday night’s matchup against Cleveland State circled on her calendar.
The game caught her attention not because she was particularly excited to face off against an out-of-conference foe but rather due to it being held at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, roughly a 10-minute drive from her native West Des Moines where she grew up.
“It’s cool to be that kid that grew up coming to games here and played here in high school, and now having the opportunity to play here in college is special,” Clark said in the post-game press conference after Iowa’s 104-75 win against Cleveland State. “I love this place.”
As part of the Hy-Vee Hawkeye Showcase, the Iowa men’s and women’s teams traveled to the Wells Fargo Arena to play, and head coach Fran McCaffery led the Hawkeyes to an 88-52 victory over Florida A&M before the women’s contest.
But the women’s game was the main event of the evening as signs of “Welcome Home Caitlin” could be seen throughout the nearly 15,000 in attendance.
With a large audience of family and friends in attendance, Clark had one of her better shooting performances of the season, scoring 38 points while going 9-of-16 from the three-point line with the crowd at Wells Fargo roaring in applause every time the ball went in.
Clark said she didn’t feel overwhelmed about playing in front of so many familiar faces and said that it’s hard to get nervous while being cheered on by fans and teammates.
“My mom always says that I play better the more family members I have in the crowd, so maybe that theory holds true,” Clark joked.
Clark’s return to central Iowa marked her fifth time playing in the Wells Fargo Arena after playing there four times previously while attending high school at Dowling Catholic in West Des Moines — as the Maroons reached Iowa’s 5A women’s basketball tournament all four years during Clark’s tenure there.
However, Clark and Dowling Catholic fell short of winning the state championship each time, including being upset in the regional finals by Sioux City East High School during Clark’s senior year — where she averaged 33.4 points, eight rebounds, and four assists per game.
She said she was looking forward to this game as a way to get redemption from back in high school.
“[This game] was probably my best shooting performance I’ve ever had in Wells Fargo Arena,” she said. “I don’t remember too many great ones previously.”
The Hawkeyes’ trip to Des Moines also made it possible for Clark’s grandmother to see her play live.
“My grandma isn’t able to come to much [of our games],” she said. “My mom’s parents come to quite a bit, but my dad’s mom doesn’t, so it’s really special for me to be able to come back here and just a lot easier for my grandparents.”
With her 38 points, Clark also passed fellow Iowa native Ashley Joens to move to ninth overall in NCAA career points with 3,079.
Clark and Joens join former Drake basketball player Lorri Bauman — ranked sixth in total points — as the only Iowa natives to be among the top 10 in points.
“I think it just speaks to women’s basketball in the state not only recently but just the history of it,” Clark said. “Sometimes I think it’s a little overlooked how good women’s basketball is in the state, and not just at the University of Iowa but the other programs too.”
