Caitlin Clark and Iowa women’s basketball set attendance record with game at Kinnick Stadium

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Lisa Bluder jogged toward the Kinnick Stadium home locker room and stopped every few seconds for a quick hug and a photo. Finally, before she entered the tunnel, the longtime Iowa women’s basketball coach patted her chest and gestured upward as fans chanted her name.

On the east side of Kinnick Stadium, the four members of the Hendrix family from Racine, Wis., wore bright yellow foam hands they created, each with one letter from the word Iowa. On the west side opposite the UI Children’s Hospital, 11-year-old Avery Dose, her parents and younger sisters Camrie and Brynlee wore gold-colored shirts with No. 22 for Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark. They drove nearly five hours to watch the game.

Avery let out a squeal as her hero rushed down the stadium’s tight sidelines slapping as many hands as possible, including her own. Before leaving the field, Clark turned toward a different section and embraced hundreds of other fans as quickly as possible before meeting Bluder and her teammates.

At a 94-year-old football stadium on a brisk and blustery Sunday afternoon, the Iowa women’s basketball team and their counterparts from DePaul made history. Their exhibition attracted 55,646 fans — a record crowd to watch a women’s basketball game. The Hawkeyes’ 94-72…