Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever were back at practice last week to prepare for the return of the WNBA season after the league took a hiatus to allow Team USA to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

During the Fever’s two weeks of vacation prior to their return, Clark spent some time with teammates Lexie Hull and Katie Lou Samuelson in Cabo, Mexico, to get away from basketball after almost a year straight of action.

Clark also made her way back to Iowa to visit friends and family. She grew up in Des Moines, where she played basketball for West Des Moines High School before playing college ball for the home state Iowa Hawkeyes.

In the Fever’s media availability on Tuesday, Clark discussed her return home, mentioning that she hosted an event for her organization, the Caitlin Clark Foundation.

“I mean, it’s definitely a place that I love coming to a lot,” Clark said. “It’s nice to be back there. It’s a seven-hour drive, so it’s hard to get back sometimes, but it was good. I did an event for my foundation, which was really fun to be able to do that, and see a lot of family, see some friends, and hopefully I’ll be able to get back there after the season ends even more.”

At the event, hosted on Aug. 2 at Des Moines North High School, Clark handed out over 350 backpacks filled with supplies to students in need of assistance.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts during the second half against the Dallas Wings at College Park Center.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

After being drafted No. 1 overall to the Fever in April, Clark made the move to Indianapolis, Indiana, and revealed that after spending the past few months in a big city, she has no plans of returning to her roots.

“I love that place,” she said. “I told my mom I’d probably never live there again. I probably broke her heart a little bit, but I love it. There’s bigger, better than there.”

Though Clark’s hometown of Des Moines serves as Iowa’s most populated city with roughly 210,000 residents, it hardly compares to the size of Indianapolis, which boasts a population of almost 900,000.

“I think Iowa has a ton of new Indiana Fever fans and just people really supporting this team and loving women’s basketball, even if they’re new to it or they’ve been passionate about it,” she added.

Clark spent four seasons playing for the Hawkeyes, leading them to two consecutive national championship appearances, but losing both. She also broke the NCAA record for most career points, leaving school with 3,951 points to her name after passing LSU legend Pete Maravich.

“I don’t think people always realize that the state of Iowa has always supported women’s basketball, and we have really good basketball players that come from that state and great history with six-on-six women’s basketball there,” Clark finished.

Clark and the Fever will return to action on Friday, August 16, against Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury. Indiana only has 14 games remaining in the regular season, but they are in a good position to make the playoffs.