Glancing upward inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Chloe Peterson couldn’t help but reminisce at the sight. Long, flowing black curtains hung from the rafters, blocking out thousands of empty seats in the upper deck. The WNBA’s Indiana Fever faced the Connecticut Sun in the 2023 season-opener, and while the 7,356 fans present were a loud and lively crowd, they filled less than half the arena. The hype and excitement only went so far. Peterson had seen this limited range before.

Just three years ago, Peterson covered Iowa women’s basketball for The Daily Iowan and had regularly witnessed scores of empty seats inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Caitlin Clark was just a second-year then, her meteoric rise to fame and stardom yet to come.

In prior seasons, as Clark grew up in Des Moines, the Hawkeyes still had talent but even smaller crowds. Just like the Fever faithful, those in attendance brought energy, but the backdrop of a long black curtain revealed how much growth was still needed.

Clark also wasn’t present at the Fever’s 2023 opener, still at Iowa and preparing for another run to the national title game. From Peterson’s seat at the baseline underneath the basket in Indianapolis, she could hear a majority of what was said on the floor.

One year later, with Clark’s No. 22 on the court, Peterson has a new seat assignment between the upper and lower levels, where media covering the NBA’s Pacers usually sat. The baseline seats were now sold to fans and in high demand.

“That one was a lot more rowdy than the year before, obviously,” Peterson said. “Everyone wanted to see Caitlin play.”

The black curtains were cast aside, unveiling the 17,000-plus spectators watching the rookie’s home debut. The curtains were never needed again.

From cardboard cutouts to curtains to full-fledged Clark mania, Peterson and Grace Smith rode the surging wave that is women’s basketball, and they aren’t dropping off anytime soon. The pair of Iowa graduates worked for DI and joined The Indianapolis Star, Peterson as a reporter and Smith as a photographer. With notepad and camera, they continue their coverage of Clark’s team, now the Fever, after a historic four years with the Hawkeyes.

When Clark returns to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the Fever’s preseason matchup against the Brazil National Team on May 4, Peterson and potentially Smith will be in attendance, capturing and documenting the latest chapter of Clark’s basketball career.

Peterson said she wasn’t too surprised when she got news of the game, as WNBA teams had identical events for their most iconic players. A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces returned to her alma mater South Carolina for a preseason contest last season. Two days before Clark’s homecoming, Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky face off against Brazil at LSU.

Back in familiar territory, the duo will witness a sold-out crowd eager to experience another Clark logo-three. As public attention to the Fever and the rest of the WNBA increases, Peterson and Smith have a spotlight on their work. But they don’t feel any pressure, especially after covering Iowa’s postseason runs in 2023 and 2024. While Clark is their obvious star subject, Peterson and Smith strive to tell stories about a Fever team with title aspirations and an ever-growing fan base.

Peterson covered Iowa women’s basketball for three years before graduating in 2023. That January, she earned an internship with The Indianapolis Star, but when a full-time position opened up in March, she called her editor and asked for a promotion. Peterson never worked a day as an intern. Her first day on the full-time job was the Fever’s opening game.

Despite No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston earning Rookie of the Year honors that season, Indiana finished the year with a 13-27 overall record, its seventh straight campaign without a playoff appearance. Peterson attended the team’s watch party for the WNBA Draft Lottery on Dec. 10, 2023.

Clark hadn’t declared for the draft yet, but when the ping pong balls bounced in the Fever’s favor yet again, everyone inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse that day knew the future that awaited them. Then-general manager Lin Dunn fell out of her chair in a rush of excitement as the arena’s atrium exploded with noise. Amid all the pandemonium, Peterson embraced calm.

“I had all the background knowledge off the top of my head,” Peterson said. “I remember [Clark’s] first 10 games as a freshman in college weren’t televised, they were all on Big Ten Plus, and she played her freshman year in front of those cardboard cutouts … It helped with my stories. I didn’t need to do a bunch of research into that.”

Peterson reunited with Clark at the 2024 WNBA Draft in Brooklyn. The pair met in a stairwell behind the stage for an interview.

“[Clark] was like, ‘Oh, it’s nice to see you again. You’re kind of stuck with me again,’” Peterson remembered.

Clark first recognized Smith at her second home game of the season, waving at the photographer before player introductions. Smith had behind-the-scenes access to Clark and the Hawkeyes that 2023-24 season, helping document their Final Four run for the DI’s book, “More than a Moment.”

“It was, like, two weeks or so of just non-stop moving, non-stop taking photos, just to document the history of it all,” Smith said. “And I think it prepared me to document the history now happening with the WNBA and its growth. My head is always on a swivel, looking for storytelling around me.”

Smith entered Iowa knowing how to use a camera — but just for video. Since graduating in 2024, she has photographed Fever and Pacer games, the Big Ten basketball tournaments, and, most recently, the Masters Tournament.

Having viewed Clark through a camera lens for years, Smith knows the player’s ticks and anticipates her celebrations. She said she sometimes focuses more on what happens after a play than the action itself. And over the course of a 40-game season, that action flashes by in a blur. The challenge is focusing on images that reflect more than just the final score.

Whether it’s capturing a Fever player signing autographs, fans of all ages reaching for flying T-shirts, or Clark’s Iowa No. 22 in the stands, Smith finds storytelling photos most appealing.

“I’m just fixated on, like, ‘OK, what is a photo I can make that maybe other people aren’t looking for?’” Smith said. “Just finding those little things can be really storytelling, especially when you’re talking about the growth of the game.”

Peterson’s job is telling those human stories through words. She plans on writing a piece on the Fever’s longest-tenured player, Kelsey Mitchell, who dedicated last season to her father who died in March of 2024. There’s also stories to tell about Indiana’s new head coach Stephanie White, who played 112 games with the Fever and previously coached Connecticut. Free agent acquisition DeWanna Bonner is closer to family in Nashville but also on a different team than fiancée Alyssa Thomas for the first time since 2019.

From new characters to profile to new scenes to depict, Peterson’s and Smith’s jobs have new challenges ahead of them this season. The game at Carver is just the start as readers and viewers turn their attention toward the Fever and their quest for their first championship since 2012.

“I don’t really think much of it,” Peterson said of the increased audience to her work. “I would say, knowing there are a ton of people reading it, because that’s what you want.”