At Kinnick Stadium, located in Iowa, United States, a new record for the largest attendance in the history of women’s basketball was established. Typically known as the home of American football, the stadium drew an impressive crowd of 55,646 spectators, surpassing the previous record of 29,619 that had stood since 2002. This historic event marked the first time in basketball history that a game was played outdoors.
The match featured the Iowa Hawkeyes and the DePaul Blue Demons and was part of the NCAA, the United States’ college basketball league. On the field, the home team emerged victorious with a score of 94-72 in favor of the Hawkeyes. The standout player of the game was Caitlin Clark, who achieved a triple-double, and she was the national player of the year for the previous season, scoring 34 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out 10 assists.
The decision to hold this outdoor game originated from the mind of Lisa Bluder, who has been the coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes for 23 years. Her inspiration for this idea came in April 2023 when nine thousand fans of the team attended a campus celebration.
Bluder expressed her joy, stating: “What an incredible day for our state and for women’s basketball. Having 55,000 people present is unbelievable. Today exceeded all our expectations, and I am very happy for our players, who had a unique opportunity in their lives.”
According to the NCAA, all the revenue generated from the game was donated to the Children’s Hospital at the University of Iowa, which is responsible for the stadium.
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