Cleveland, Ohio, home of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, hosted this year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship game. However, that was not the only place fans came together to see the final game of Caitlin Clark’s collegiate career.
Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City saw thousands of fans seated for the NCAA final watch party. The game was broadcast onto the stadium’s jumbotron in the same format it appeared on home televisions.
Concessions were open and attendees played games such as cross-court golf putt and a seemingly never-ending game of knockout on the court during commercial breaks and halftime.
Before the game, fans seemed united on one front: the excitement to see Caitlin Clark play one last time in the Black and Gold. However, there was undoubtedly trepidation about the challenging matchup that was soon to take place.
Eric Jensen, a first-year student at the University of Iowa, said before the game that he and other fans were nervous, considering how successful a team South Carolina was during the 2023-24 season. He said the team would need to put up their best, and noted that Caitlin Clark’s 40-point game was a substantial reason behind Iowa’s win against undefeated South Carolina last year.
Some fans were unfettered in their optimism. One fan, Bob Moser, a parent of a UI student, was firm in his belief that the game would end with a 75-69 Hawkeye victory. He traveled four hours to attend the Carver Watch Party with his daughter.
The game initially saw the Hawkeyes quickly build a strong lead. As a result, the fans were active and cheered for each rebound and turnover.
Damien Garrett, a first-year UI student, noted the Gamecocks’ catch-up near the beginning of the second quarter, in an interview interrupted repeatedly by roaring fans during the game’s intense midsection. He, like many other fans, was happy to simply experience the game.
“I really just love being in Carver. I came here as a kid a lot to watch women’s basketball,” Garrett said.
First-year UI students Allayna Schreiber and Lucy Dunning said the watch party felt as though they were at the game. Sitting with them were friends of theirs who traveled from Ames, Iowa, to see the game together. The feeling of community was important to the two of them, and they said the energy in the stands was strong, regardless of whether the Hawkeyes were ahead or behind.
Toward the end of the game, fans started to assess the stiff competition the women were facing.
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Multiple fans categorized the energy in Carver as “electric” and were proud to see how far the women’s team had come this year. While some fans believed Clark was the reason the Hawkeyes were successful this year, others placed more faith in the rest of the team. To some, Clark’s absence next year does not prove troubling.
The game ultimately ended in a Hawkeye defeat. Fans began to shuffle out with 30 seconds on the clock, acknowledging their team’s inability to make up South Carolina’s over 10-point lead.
Though the energy dwindled, fans remained optimistic about the great lengths to which the women’s team went this year.
“Everybody here loves to watch the team,” UI first-year student Tyler Morgan said after the game. “Regardless of whether or not we win or lose, everybody here is probably still happy about it.”