Caitlin Clark Fever has arrived in a big way.
The Indiana star made her WNBA preseason debut Friday and explained why she was taken No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft.
Clark led the Fever to a 79-76 loss to the Dallas Wings on the road, leading the way with 21 points and hitting five threes on 13 attempts.
pre-season loss to the Wings. Getty Images
And on top of that, Dallas’ College Park Center sold out the 6,251-seat venue because some people said the game felt like it had a playoff atmosphere even though it was a pre-season game.
This came after Dallas averaged just over 4,600 fans per game last season, according to Statista.
“The Caitlin Clark effect is real. My cousin and I attended a good majority of the Dallas Wings home games last season and the upper deck at UTA was never open for WNBA games, not even the playoffs. wrote a user on. The building is completely sold out for a preseason game.
Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw noted the extra energy — and people in the stands — during Clark’s professional debut.
And it happened at the same time the Mavericks were hosting Game 6 of their first-round series against the Clippers.
“I came here when the upper deck was covered with a tarpaulin. That’s what Caitlin Clark is doing for a preseason game with the Mavs and Stars playing Game 6 tonight. Clark has 8 in the first 5 minutes,” he wrote about.
Clark had 16 points at halftime and quickly dipped into his bag of crossovers and step-back 3-pointers before adding five more points in the second half.
The extra energy in the building was felt by players on both sides.
“It’s really awesome that Caitlin is bringing all this attention to women’s basketball, so I’m really grateful for that,” Wings center Kalani Brown said, according to the Associated Press.
THE the league got a lot of extra looks with Clark’s presenceand earlier in the week, StubHub announced that ticket sales jumped 93% compared to last season.
“StubHub has seen a significant increase in demand for WNBA, just as we did for NCAAW basketball last season, marking a notable moment in the popularity of the sport and the league. The 2023 WNBA Finals set a record for the league on StubHub, with sales tripling over the previous year,” Adam Budelli, a StubHub spokesperson, said in a statement Wednesday.
“Now, as we head into this season, Caitlin Clark’s impact is electrifying, sparking an unprecedented 15-fold increase in searches for the Indiana Fever following her WNBA Draft announcement.”
The company said the Fever saw “sales skyrocket 13-fold” after Clark was selected in the WNBA draft.
The Fever will host their first and only preseason home game on May 9 against the Atlanta Dream, as Clark will make his debut in front of the Indiana crowd.
The team will begin its regular season on May 14 against the Connecticut Sun.
New York Post
