Crossover at Kinnick

Crossover at Kinnick
A view from behind the scorers table during the 2023 game
DePaul Blue Demons Iowa Hawkeyes
72 94
Head coach:
Doug Bruno		 Head coach:
Lisa Bluder
1234 Total
DePaul Blue Demons 18191421 72
Iowa Hawkeyes 24282517 94
DateOctober 15, 2023
VenueKinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa United States
MVPCaitlin Clark
Referees
  • Michael McConnell
  • Maggie Tieman
  • Nykesha Thompson
Attendance55,646
National anthemHawkeye Marching Band
Halftime showHawkeye Marching Band
United States TV coverage
NetworkBig Ten Network
Announcers

Crossover at Kinnick was an American exhibition women's college basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the DePaul Blue Demons. Held at Kinnick Stadium, the home stadium of the Hawkeyes football team, the game set the women's basketball single-game attendance record (55,646). Led by reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark, who had a 34-point triple-double, Iowa defeated DePaul, 94–72.

Background

In the 2022–23 season, Iowa reached the 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game, losing to LSU. The success of guard Caitlin Clark, who earned all major national player of the year awards, drove record ticket sales for the 2023–24 team.[1] DePaul finished with a 16–17 record and missed the NCAA tournament, before losing star forward Aneesah Morrow to the transfer portal.[2]

On August 10, 2023, Iowa announced that it would host DePaul in a preseason exhibition game at Kinnick Stadium, the school's football stadium, with proceeds going to the University of Iowa Children's Hospital. In case of inclement weather, the game would be moved to Carver–Hawkeye Arena.[3] Head coaches Lisa Bluder of Iowa and Doug Bruno of DePaul first discussed the idea for the game during a private preseason scrimmage between their teams in the previous year.[4] Bluder proposed the idea to Iowa interim athletic director Beth Goetz shortly after the 2023 NCAA tournament, inspired by the success of the campus celebration of the 2022–23 team, which drew 9,000 fans, and the school's Grapple on the Gridiron wrestling meet in 2015.[5][6]

Game summary

Clark on the sidelines with her Iowa teammates
Caitlin Clark and Gabbie Marshall on the sidelines at Crossover at Kinnick in 2023
Caitlin Clark led Iowa to a win with a 34-point triple-double.

Crossover at Kinnick had an attendance of 55,646, the highest for a single game in women's basketball history. The previous record was 29,619, in the national championship of the 2002 NCAA tournament between UConn and Oklahoma at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.[7] It was the first women's basketball game to be played in an outdoor football stadium.[8] The game was televised on the Big Ten Network, with Mike Hall on play-by-play commentary and Christy Winters-Scott and Meghan McKeown as color analysts.[9]

After DePaul led by three early in the first quarter, Iowa rallied and held the lead for the rest of the game.[10] The Hawkeyes started the second quarter on a 10–3 run to extend their lead to double digits. At halftime, Iowa led 52–37, behind 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds from Caitlin Clark.[11] They finished the third quarter with a 77–51 lead and won the game, 94–72, despite a 15–0 run from DePaul to start the fourth quarter.[12][13] Clark posted a triple-double of 34 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while Anaya Peoples led DePaul with 19 points and five rebounds.[14][15]

Aftermath

The game raised about $250,000 for the University of Iowa Children's Hospital.[16] It drew attention to the growing popularity of women's sports, with analysts comparing it to Volleyball Day in Nebraska, an August 2023 outdoor volleyball game hosted by Nebraska, which was the highest-attended women's sporting event of all time.[17][18][19]

References

  1. ^ Olson, Eric (October 4, 2023). "Iowa women's basketball enjoys big surge in popularity with run to title game and Clark's return". Associated Press. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  2. ^ Zbroszczyk, Preston (April 9, 2023). "No more Morrow: Star leads exodus of Blue Demons into transfer portal". The DePaulia. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Kopatich, Kate (August 10, 2023). "Iowa Women's Basketball to host 'Crossover at Kinnick'". KWQC-TV. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  4. ^ Boden, Chris (October 13, 2023). "DePaul women's basketball prepares historic outdoor game". WGN-TV. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Roering, Kenna (October 10, 2023). "'Makes the young ones believe': Iowa women's basketball guard Caitlin Clark's immeasurable impact on women's sports". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Bohnenkamp, John (October 15, 2023). "Clark's triple-double highlights game at Kinnick. Women's basketball record crowd of 55,646 shows up". Associated Press. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  7. ^ Ellison, Maya (October 16, 2023). "History from Kinnick! Iowa's sets women's basketball attendance record at 55,646". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  8. ^ Joseph, Sam (October 16, 2023). "Iowa Hawkeyes break attendance record in historic game at Kinnick Stadium". CNN. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  9. ^ Southard, Dargan (October 15, 2023). "What TV channel has Iowa women's basketball's Crossover at Kinnick Stadium today?". Hawk Central. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  10. ^ Meglio, Chris (October 15, 2023). "Iowa women's basketball defeats DePaul in historic Crossover at Kinnick game". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  11. ^ Huesmann, Kyle (October 16, 2023). "PHOTO GALLERY: Iowa defeats DePaul in 'Crossover at Kinnick'". On3. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  12. ^ Southard, Dargan (October 15, 2023). "Caitlin Clark's triple-double punctuates Crossover at Kinnick as Iowa topples DePaul". Hawk Central. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  13. ^ Linder, Jeff (October 15, 2023). "'Crossover' women's basketball exhibition draws a Kinnick crowd of 55,646". The Gazette. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  14. ^ Young, Ryan (October 15, 2023). "Caitlin Clark, Iowa set NCAA attendance record in exhibition at Kinnick Stadium". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  15. ^ "Official Basketball Box Score - DePaul at Iowa" (PDF). University of Iowa Athletics. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
  16. ^ Rojas, Alejandro (October 15, 2023). "Crossover at Kinnick raises $250,000 for UI Stead Family Hospital". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  17. ^ Brown, Chelsie (October 12, 2023). "More than 52,000 fans expected at 'Crossover at Kinnick'". KRCG. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  18. ^ Schnell, Lindsay (October 15, 2023). "Caitlin Clark, Iowa draw huge crowd to football stadium: 'For little girls, this is normal'". USA Today. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  19. ^ Hruby, Emma (October 13, 2023). "Crossover at Kinnick: Iowa basketball aims for attendance record". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved October 16, 2023.