Caitlin Clark (Photo via IndianaFever/Twitter)

On Thursday night, Caitlin Clark entered her new venue, which was covered in No. 22 jerseys and shirts from floor to ceiling. She would leave the floor as a winner on this night.

Just seven minutes remained in the first quarter when Clark hit her first basket, which was a layup. When she eventually made a deep 3-pointer from the edge of the Fieldhouse logo late in the third quarter, the applause intensified and increased when she finished a three-point play a few minutes later.

Though it wasn’t quite the start most expected, Clark handled the city’s most anticipated rookie debut since Peyton Manning played for the Indianapolis Colts in 1998.

The night only got better for Caitlin Clark after the game was over.

Following the Fever’s 83-80 triumph, the former Hawkeyes star reconnected with teammate Gabbie Marshall, who was present to witness Clark’s first home game.

Fans who witnessed the moment online absolutely loved it:

Clark spoke postgame about this moment:

“It’s just special having her here, someone I started all four years at Iowa with and has been one of my best friends over the course of the last four years. Just special. I told her I love her, and she said the same.”

Clark, the former University of Iowa phenom who has taken the sports world by storm, made her first appearance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and she did not disappoint as she had 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and six turnovers, going 4 of 12 from the field and 2 of 9 on 3s in 31 minutes.

During the Fever’s preseason opener against the Dallas Wings, Clark led the team with 21 points.

“It was a lot of fun, I thought they were loud, I thought they were into it. It was fun to see,” Clark said following her home debut, via Yahoo. “This is a preseason game on a Thursday night and there’s 13,000 people here. I think that just shows you what it’s going to be like for us all season. It’s going to help us.”

Caitlin Clark’s Presence Has Changed The Outlook of Home Games For The Indiana Fever

Caitlin Clark (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The Indiana Fever’s first preseason game in Dallas on Friday was in front of a sold-out crowd.

They finally got a taste of what every home game would be like on Thursday when 13,028 people filled the fieldhouse to watch a preseason game.

Caitlin Clark’s presence has undoubtedly changed things for a team that averaged 4,067 fans per game just last year.

March Madness Star DJ Burns Shows Off Incredible Body Transformation After Losing A Whopping 45 Pounds Since Exiting The Tournament

DJ Burns ((Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
DJ Burns was one of the breakout players of this year’s NCAA Tournament and turned out to be one of the biggest stars, having led NC State to the Final Four.

The center, who was rumored to have NFL interest, is preparing for the next stage of his career and has put in some rigorous work as he looks to take advantage of his momentum from last season.

Burns, who stands at 6’9” and weighed 275 pounds, averaged 16.3 points during the tournament and put in a 29-point performance in a win against Duke in the Elite Eight.

DJ Burns Has Lost An Incredible Amount Of Weight

The Athletic’s Shams Charania has shared a photo of the center looking much slimmer than he did during March Madness. Burns told the NBA insider he lost 45 points over six-and-a-half weeks thanks to early-morning cardio workouts.

Check him out below:

Despite the NFL interest, Burns made it clear that he wants to continue playing basketball after college. While he isn’t projected to make it to the NBA via the draft, he could possibly get a call from a team looking to try him out in the Summer League.

“I’d probably explore some other options with basketball first before all of that, but I’m not a closed minded person,” he told Dan Patrick about the reported NFL interest earlier this year.

The NBA Draft is set to take place next month, by which Burns should have lost even more weight. It will be interesting to see how things pan out where he’s concerned. But the NFL could be an option should things not work out for him in basketball.