Iowa women's basketball's popularity continues to grow as the Hawkeyes have already sold over 47,000 tickets for their "Crossover at Kinnick" exhibition game against DePaul. The event is taking place Oct. 15 at the 69,000-seat Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes have some of the most supportive fans in the nation. In August, the program announced that season tickets for the 2023-24 campaign were already sold out. Interest was high before, but Iowa had only sold out three regular-season games prior to the upcoming season.
A team of destiny 🤩
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) October 5, 2023
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Seeing the hype build, Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder began to brainstorm what else could be achieved, and now it's only a matter of time before her program is in the history books. The current women's college basketball attendance record was set in the 2002 national title game between Connecticut and Oklahoma, as 29,619 fans attended that contest at San Antonio's Alamodome.
After finishing last season with a 31-7 overall record and a program-first national championship game appearance, Iowa is facing pressure to repeat that success. Bluder and the Hawkeyes, however, are embracing it.
"I've stolen this quote from Billie Jean King many times," Bluder said during Iowa's media day. "And, in fact, I'm reading the book right now, 'Pressure Is a Privilege.' So I think we have to remember that we're in this situation of facing pressure because we've done well. Let's enjoy that. Let's rejoice about that."
The key to the Hawkeyes' recent success has been Caitlin Clark. The 6-foot guard took over the basketball world by putting up historic numbers last season, including scoring a record 191 points in the NCAA Tournament.
Clark is back for her senior season, along with fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall and sixth-year guard Kate Martin. Bluder said Clark has been successful because of her constant desire to get better.
"You know, she's never satisfied, but that's the beauty of basketball. You never play a perfect game," Bluder said. "There's always things that you can work on. I think she understands that. "She's constantly working to get better. It's not like she's sitting back and enjoying this time of her being the National Player of the Year. She wants to get it again. She's wired that way, where she just always wants to do better."
