By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The logo is approximately 35 feet from the south basket at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, a landmark that commemorates the history of the moment and the greatness of a career.

It’s the spot where on a cold February night in 2024, when the Iowa women’s basketball team was playing Michigan, Caitlin Clark drilled the 3-pointer that made her the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.

The logo — 22 CLARK, in black bordered by gold — tempts many to try to shoot from there, although few have the range of Clark. It’s the border guard between good shooters and the greatest one.

It was the spot where Clark delivered another big shot on Sunday.

Thirty seconds remained in the third quarter of the WNBA exhibition game between Clark’s Indiana Fever and the Brazilian National Team, and Clark’s time on the court for the day had almost reached its conclusion.

Clark confessed what came next wasn’t part of the plan, although Fever coach Stephanie White wasn’t so sure.

Maybe it wasn’t, but it was the perfect end for Clark’s homecoming to the arena where, she said, “Something about this gym makes me play well.”

Clark took the inbounds pass, and from a foot behind that logo made of paint but engraved with her talent, bombed in a 3-pointer that sent the sellout crowd of 15,400 and a few more into its last loud frenzy of the day.

“I was like, ‘Ah, why not?’” Clark said. “Might as well launch one.”

“She knew she was going to come out of the game,” White said, smiling. “So she was going to take that logo three.”

The shot was the bookend for Clark’s day in the 108-44 win — her first 3-pointer came from the tip of the beak on Iowa’s “giant Tigerhawk” logo at midcourt 34 seconds into the game.

“I’ve been watching her do it for four years,” said White, who is in her first year as the Fever’s coach but called some of Clark’s games on ESPN. “Five years, really. That’s just who she is. That’s just what she does.”

Who Clark is and what she does is why the arena was jammed on a May afternoon. They came to this place for the final three years of Clark’s career to see clutch shots and brilliant passes and all of the flair that came with her game, and they on this day to deliver a cacophony of appreciation for what they have seen and what they were going to see.

The noise on Clark’s pre-game introduction reached 116 decibels, and the sound on that first three reached 117. It was just as noisy on the final one, the punctuation to Clark’s day.

Clark was able to squeeze out 19 minutes in her preseason debut with the Fever — she missed Saturday’s opener against the Washington Mystics with a sore leg that appeared to be bothering her at times in this game.

When Clark wasn’t in the game in the first half, she was sometimes riding a stationary bike in the tunnel entrance by the Fever’s bench. There wasn’t a noticeable limp, but she also wasn’t forcing her play.

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

After the game, Clark said, “I felt good. It was fun to get out there. I haven’t played basketball in over, like, 200 days, so I was a little nervous going into the game. I don’t get nervous, but nervous just because I haven’t been able to play basketball in a really long time.”

Many of her returning Fever teammates have experienced the mania that follows Clark everywhere she goes, but this was different. This was home.

“It’s amazing just to see it, just how many people love her,” said Fever forward Makayla Timpson. “She made her mark here, and it’s incredible to see all of the fans. The impact she’s had in this city is amazing to see.”

It was the second time Clark had been back at the arena this year — she returned to have her jersey number retired on February 2 when the Hawkeyes defeated USC — but it was her first time playing in her new uniform.

Still, she was in black and gold — her Nikes carried the Hawkeye colors.

“These are my Bruce Lee Kobes that I have worn in literally every big game of my career at Iowa,” Clark said. “So I was like, ‘I have to break them out.’

“There was no option. I had to choose these. They’re kind of like my magic shoes, honestly.”

Magic shoes for a magical day, capped by another shot from a magical place.

“These are the moments that you never take for granted,” Clark said. “You kind of just want to stay in them forever.”

Top photo: Caitlin Clark signs autographs after Sunday’s game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. (John Gaines Photography)