Caitlin Clark turns Target Center into Gainbridge West. ‘There were a lot of Fever fans.’

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s been a summer of firsts for Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark. On a new team in a cross-country league, she’s been traveling to new cities and playing in new arenas.

Well, most of them have been new to her. By the time she got to the Target Center in Minneapolis on Sunday morning, she already knew the arena like the back of her hand.

As an Iowa Hawkeye, Clark turned the Target Center in “Carver North.” On Sunday, it was “Gainbridge West.”

Takeaways: Fever piling up more big wins, double up Lynx in decisive 4th quarter

It seemed just like another home game for the Fever with a sold out crowd of 18,978.

“There were a lot of Fever fans.” Clark said after the Fever’s hard-fought 81-74 win over the Lynx. “They were cheering, going crazy. A lot of people that probably supported me when I was here playing with Iowa, but it’s a great venue, the Target Center is awesome. I mean, I just I remember when I was here in college, and people were lined up like overnight to try to get in the door, and they just love women’s basketball. The city supports women’s basketball, obviously the history here and what the Lynx have been able to do. But yeah, I mean, I guess there’s a little magic in here. Who knows? Knock on wood, because we do come back.”

That magic spread to her teammates, too. Clark didn’t have the most efficient night from the field, going 5-of-17 (29.4%) with five free throws for 17 points, but she was crucial in the final moments to seal the win. Fever center Aliyah Boston had a double-double by halftime, and her new career-high of 16 rebounds helped put Kelsey Mitchell (21 points, 8-of-18 shooting) on the line at the end of the game, too.

Every time the Fever (11-14) inched closer to victory, it was met with raucous cheers from an away crowd.

“It’s huge,” Fever coach Christie Sides said. “I mean, to be on the road in Minnesota, it’s just a different feeling. We hit a bucket late, and I looked around because you know, the crowd just went went crazy and that’s just, we’re not used to that on the road.”

Clark, an avid WNBA fan from a young age, grew up coming to Lynx games — it’s the closest WNBA team to her hometown of Des Moines, Iowa (a 3 1/2 hour drive straight up I-35). She and her dad, Brent, first came up to a Lynx game when she was around fifth grade, she said, and a ticket office representative made the entire trip well worth it.

When Brent Clark called the ticket office for a pair of seats to the game, that representative offered to let the two come into the arena before general fans for the team’s early shootaround. In that experience alone, Clark got to meet some of the Lynx’s best in their WNBA championship runs.

“I remember I got to sit courtside and watch all of (early warmups) so whoever that guy was, you’re a hero, you’re heaven-sent in my life,” Clark said, laughing, pregame. “I don’t know who you are, I don’t know if you still work for the Lynx and the (Timberwolves), but I remember Lindsay Whalen came over, Seimone Augustus came over, I remember meeting them very vividly. It was obviously a very special memory in my entire basketball career.”

Years later, as a player in the Big Ten, she came to Minneapolis each year to play Minnesota in Williams Arena — not quite the Target Center, but close. When the Big Ten moved the conference tournament to the Target Center, Clark got her first chance to play in the arena she grew up watching her favorite players.

Clark and Iowa went 6-0 in the Target Center over a 2-year span, capturing the Big Ten championship each of those two years.

Fans came out in droves from Iowa to watch Clark and the Hawkeyes play in the postseason. Each session was filled with Hawkeyes fans loudly cheering for their team, essentially making it seem like they were back in Iowa City at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“My last-ever Big Ten game I played here, and this was my first ever WNBA game as a kid, so this arena is pretty cool, pretty special to myself,” Clark said pregame. “It’s just exciting and fun to come back, and I know a lot of Iowa fans, this is a fun place for them to come.”

More: ‘Hey, get tickets for when the Fever come to play.’ Iowa fans will follow Caitlin Clark.

Now, with Clark in the professional leagues, she will visit the Target Center once or twice a year. And fans are ready. Erin Roberts, an avid Clark fan from Iowa, told IndyStar in March she bought Lynx season tickets for the sole purpose of making sure she could be at Clark’s two games there this summer.

Roberts wasn’t the only Iowa fan to make the trek; it seemed like the fans were majority Iowa, Indiana Fever or Caitlin Clark fans. The cheers were deafening when Clark pulled down a rebound, then hit two free throws to seal the win for Indiana, the Fever’s eighth in their past 12 games.

Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark sells out Target Center as Iowa, home fans cheer on Fever