Caitlin Clark returns to Iowa in Fever's preseason game against Brazil despite leg injury

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark made the shot everyone came to see.

Clark stopped late in the third quarter of Sunday’s WNBA preseason game between the Indiana Fever and the Brazilian national team and launched a 3-pointer near the “22” logo on Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena court. It was the spot where she hit the shot in her senior season in 2024 that made her the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball, and of course it went in.

This shot, with 25 seconds left in the third quarter, capped Clark’s return to the arena where she broke records on her way to becoming the NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader.

“I was like, ‘Ah, why not?’” Clark said, smiling. Had to give the fans a little something.”

Clark, starting her second season with the Fever, scored 16 points in Indiana’s 108-44 win.

Clark’s day was bookended by shots that were reminiscent of her career with Iowa’s women’s basketball team — her first 3-pointer came from the tip of the beak on Iowa’s “Tigerhawk” logo at midcourt 34 seconds into the game.

And after both shots went in, the crowd response sounded just like all the shots she made in front of sellout crowds as she led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA national championship game in her final two seasons.

“It’s amazing to see how many people love her,” Fever forward Makayla Timpson said.

Clark, dealing with a leg injury that kept her out of Saturday’s preseason opener against the Washington Mystics, played almost 19 minutes, and that was enough to please the capacity crowd of 14,998. She finished the game making 6 of 10 shots, and added six rebounds and five assists.

“Something about this gym makes me play well,” Clark said.

It was Clark’s second time back at the arena since she left the Hawkeyes — she had her jersey No. 22 retired in a ceremony after Iowa’s 76-69 win over USC on Feb. 2.

“I’ve told my teammates they’re going to be here cheering for me, yes, but they’re also going to be here cheering for you and our entire team,” Clark said before the game. “And I think that’s what’s so great about these fans, is they really rally around the entire team. It’s not just myself, and that’s what I love about it.”

Clark was greeted with a loud ovation when she took the court before the game, and the noise continued throughout the day. The crowd noise for Clark’s pregame introduction reached 116 decibels, and the first 3-pointer recorded 117-decibel applause.

That kind of a response wasn’t a surprise to Fever coach Stephanie White.

“I’ve seen the Caitlin Clark stuff from the outside looking in and being on the television side and certainly being an opponent,” said White, who called some of Clark’s games while working at ESPN and went against her last season as the coach of the Connecticut Sun. “For us to be able to bring Caitlin back here and to bring our team here to experience this fan base, it’s an incredible opportunity.”

Iowa coach Jan Jensen had the same reaction.

“We’re just proud that we can fill this place up in May,” she said. “Are you kidding me?”

The event became a hot ticket as soon as it was announced earlier this year. The average paid price of $440 per ticket on the secondary market this week made it the most in-demand event involving Clark, according to ticketing technology company Victory Live, which analyzes sales across the secondary market. Asking prices on the secondary market Wednesday ranged from $146 to $2,368.

Clark made it clear before the game she was going to play despite the injury, although it was apparent the injury was still an issue — when she came out of the game in the first half she went to the tunnel behind the Fever bench to ride a stationary bike.

“It sucked being on the sideline yesterday, but obviously, it’s probably just the best decision in the preseason,” Clark said.

Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 17 points. Aliyah Boston added 11.

Clark left the game after making that last shot, and as she got to the bench waved to the crowd, encouraging one last cheer.

“That’s my goal,” Clark said before the game. “Get them involved, get them loud.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark falls after making a 3e-point basket during the first half of an exhibition women's basketball game against Brazil, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston (7) fights for the ball with Brazil center Izabel de Angelo, left, during the first half of an exhibition women's basketball game, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) fights for the ball with Brazil guard Carina Martins (17) during the first half of an exhibition women's basketball game, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (10) celebrates after making a 3-point basket during the first half of an exhibition women's basketball game against Brazil, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Brazil guard Izabela Leite (23) drives past Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, right, during the first half of an exhibition women's basketball game, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts after making a 3-point basket during the first half of an exhibition women's basketball game against Brazil, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, center, gives autographs before an exhibition women's basketball game against Brazil, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts to a fan during the first half of an exhibition women's basketball game against Brazil, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, second from left, drives to the basket between Brazil guard Carina Martins, left, and forward Ayla McDowell (5) during the first half of an exhibition women's basketball game, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Wildlife crews are no longer actively searching for two juvenile gray wolves who were part of a pack that killed dozens of cows and calves last summer in Northern California’s Sierra Valley, an official said Tuesday.

The two wolves were members of the Beyem Seyo pack that in 2025 killed or injured at least 92 calves and cows in a seven-month period, according to a report released last week by two researchers with the University of California, Davis.

Wolves in the state are protected under California law and the federal Endangered Species Act. Under former President Joe Biden, officials said they planned a first-ever national recovery plan for wolves, but President Donald Trump’s administration ended that initiative in November.

In October, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced it had euthanized four gray wolves — three adults and a juvenile — from the Beyem Seyo pack after “an unprecedented level of livestock attacks across the Sierra Valley” by a single wolf pack since the canids returned to the state. It also said it planned to capture and relocate the remaining two wolves to wildlife facilities to prevent their behavior from spreading to other wolves in California.

Gray wolves primarily prey on wild animals like deer and elk, not livestock, but the pack became used to killing cows and calves, the department said.

“These wolves had become habituated to preying on cattle, a feeding pattern that persisted and was being taught to their offspring which would leave to form their own packs and could teach them the same cattle-preying behavior,” the department said at the time.

But following weeks of searching for the remaining two wolves, officials have “reduced efforts to capture” them, Katie Talbot, CDFW Deputy Director of Public Affairs, said in a statement.

“Despite best efforts from CDFW’s expert wolf biologists and law enforcement officers, we have not been able to find or get close enough to these young wolves to safely capture them,” Talbot said.

“We remain hopeful our continued remote monitoring will allow for sightings that will lead to safe capture of these juveniles," she added.

Talbot said that CDFW crews will be working this week on capturing wolves and collaring them throughout the state, including in the Sierra Valley.

Wildlife officials tried for months to prevent the pack from attacking farm animals by using drones, nonlethal bean bags, installing flags or rope to deter them and having officers in the field 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but their efforts failed.

“The efforts that the (CDFW) made were tremendous and heroic but it was too late.” said Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity.

She said that cattle ranchers in the area should have been taking proactive prevention measures for years, including increased human presence around the cattle, keeping the livestock bunched up instead of letting them loose on large grazing pastures, and calving at the same time of year that deer and elk are birthing so wolves have a source of wild prey.

“Ranchers in California have been on notice that wolves were coming since late December 2011, when we got our first wolf. They have been on notice they would establish packs since 2015,” when the first pack was confirmed in Siskiyou County, Weiss said.

Gray wolves were eradicated in California early in the last century because of their perceived threat to livestock, with the last known native wolf killed in 1924 in Lassen County. Since their reintroduction in Idaho and at Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s, they’ve proliferated throughout the West. The recovering population has meant increasing conflict with ranchers.

“It was a horrible summer here for everybody and the emotional strain was probably worse than the financial strain for most people. They did the right thing. We couldn’t go on living the way we were living,” said Rick Roberti, a cattle rancher in Plumas County and president of the California Cattlemen’s Association, who lost several animals.

Economist Tina Saitone and researcher Tracy Schohr said in UC Davis’ quarterly agricultural economics update released Friday that the Beyem Seyo pack killed more livestock than the entire wolf population of Montana killed in 2024 and the killings of farm animals by the wolves in Wyoming in 2023.

In Montana, the state’s 1,100 wolves killed 54 domestic animals in 2024, and Wyoming’s 352 wolves killed 49 livestock in 2023, the scientists said.

In California, about 70 gray wolves were responsible for 175 livestock kills between January and October of last year, with the Beyem Seyo pack responsible for half of the killings, according to CDFW data.

Roberti said the attacks on livestock in Plumas and Sierra counties left many ranchers angry. He said he would like to see certain areas in the state declared “special zones” where people are allowed to hunt wolves that attack livestock.

“We’re pretty much in unison about thinking that it would help if we started taking out the ones that are just killing cattle and are too habituated to man or they’re not afraid of us,” he said.

The predators are a long way from recovery, Weiss said, adding that killing them is not a long-term solution.

“The scientific literature is pretty conclusory that killing wolves to resolve conflicts with livestock is not a solution. It can actually be counterproductive. It can result in there being more conflicts with livestock," she said.

FILE - This remote camera image provided by the U.S. Forest Service shows a female gray wolf and two of the three pups born in 2017 in the wilds of Lassen National Forest in northern California on June 29, 2017. (U.S. Forest Service via AP, File)