Lakhasly

Caitlin Clark prepares for debut as WNBA heads into new era.A new era for women's basketball gets under way when Caitlin Clark makes her full professional debut for the Indiana Fever as the new WNBA season tips off on Tuesday."That just shows you what it's going to be like for us all season. It's going to help us."Tuesday's game will be broadcast nationwide in the U.S. on ESPN, with the network pledging in a press release last week to "utilize a WNBA Finals-level production setup" for the game.After a college career which rewrote the record books and shattered attendance and television viewing marks, Clark, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, will line up for Indiana's season-opening road game against the Connecticut Sun.Anticipation for Clark's regular season debut has already started to mirror the excitement that accompanied her collegiate career, when sellout crowds flocked to Iowa Hawkeyes games to catch a glimpse of a generational talent.Asked what she remembered about her first game for Iowa, she replied: "No one was there."

Caitlin Clark prepares for debut as WNBA heads into new era.A new era for women's basketball gets under way when Caitlin Clark makes her full professional debut for the Indiana Fever as the new WNBA season tips off on Tuesday."That just shows you what it's going to be like for us all season. It's going to help us."Tuesday's game will be broadcast nationwide in the U.S. on ESPN, with the network pledging in a press release last week to "utilize a WNBA Finals-level production setup" for the game.After a college career which rewrote the record books and shattered attendance and television viewing marks, Clark, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, will line up for Indiana's season-opening road game against the Connecticut Sun.Anticipation for Clark's regular season debut has already started to mirror the excitement that accompanied her collegiate career, when sellout crowds flocked to Iowa Hawkeyes games to catch a glimpse of a generational talent.Asked what she remembered about her first game for Iowa, she replied: "No one was there." While Indiana stands to gain the most tangible commercial benefit from Clark's arrival this season, teams across the entire league will enjoy a financial boost, with some already switching home games involving Indiana to bigger arenas to ensure more lucrative box office returns."I think the anticipation and all the enthusiasm going into the season has really been great for the women's game and is long overdue," Connecticut Sun general manager Darius Taylor said.Tuesday's game at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, has already sold out, with courtside seats being offered for sale on secondary markets for as much as $4,262 each.More than 13,000 fans packed into the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to watch her first home game for the Fever last Thursday, eclipsing the previous record for a preseason game of just over 9,000, set 24 years ago.Tuesday's attendance will be a far cry from her college debut.