INDIANAPOLIS — The scene was quite unlike anything else. Thousands of fans in attendance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, all to watch the Indiana Fever select star Caitlin Clark with the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.

Some of the best seats in the house — front row along the baseline — went to Gabby Smith and her travel team teammates, who arrived around 5:45 p.m. You may not have seen the fourth-grader (she was wearing an Clark Iowa jersey), but if you were inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, you probably heard the “Caitlin Clark” cheers she led echoing through the building as fans continued filing in.

Clark is Smith's favorite player, obviously — because "she shoots a lot of 3-pointers" — and while the youngster isn't quite as aggressive a shooter (she prefers the layups), she was dialed in for the Hawkeyes' tournament run, going so far as to watch Clark's practices on Facebook and YouTube.

DOYEL: Elvis, The Beatles and Caitlin Clark. Indiana Fever party just getting started.

CAITLIN CLARK FEVER: Sign up for our newsletter for best stories on WNBA

There was a palpable buzz Monday as the draft drew closer and electricity coursed through the building as ESPN's coverage began and the Fever were put on the clock.

When the pick was officially made: Pure elation.

“It’s amazing. I cannot believe that many people are here for just the draft party,” Fever general manager Lin Dunn said. “It’s such an exciting moment.”

As Dunn addressed the media, Fever coach Christie Sides was inside the arena, watching from a corner as the final few rounds of balloons fell from the Gainbridge rafters. After taking in the scene, she walked briskly towards center court, stopping briefly to celebrate with Fever players Maya Caldwell, Erica Wheeler and Lexie Hull — all of whom were wearing fresh Caitlin Clark Fever jerseys — before taking the mic.

“You guys, this is incredible. Absolutely incredible,” said Sides, whose shirt read: With the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Indiana Fever select Caitlin Clark. “I was able to hear you when I was back there in the draft room. Now I want to be able to feel you.”

"The impact (Clark) has had on not just women's basketball, but basketball period — it's a huge change," said Lapel sophomore Laniah Wills, a 6-0 wing with Division I aspirations herself who was among those in attendance Monday night. "Little girls seeing her everywhere, it's encouraging them to play basketball and be just like her."

Though only now officially a member of the Fever, they have been feeling (and capitalizing on) her influence for months.

It was such a "vibrant time to be a Fever fan when they first arrived in Indianapolis," Fishers coach Lauren Votaw said, recalling their run of success with Tamika Catchings in the 2000s and 2010s.

But this is at a different level.

Votaw had a tough time scheduling a date for their youth players to practice at Gainbridge before a game this season because the ticket office has been so inundated with other requests. "To think they're selling stuff out, it's amazing," she continued. "And with events like that, our youth players get to practice on the Gainbridge floor, then go to the game and see Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston — it's really cool."

The Fever (and Pacers) were Pike freshman Korinne Nickolson's introduction to basketball. She fell in love with how the teams passed and moved with the ball, the way they got back after defensive stops. "Every time I watch them, I learn and get better," she said.

The standout point guard admits she wasn't as excited for the Fever's No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft — Aliyah Boston was a special player, she said, but the Fever were "still trying to build something" — but this year?

"I'm really excited to see where (Clark) takes the Indiana Fever, especially with Aliyah Boston, NaLyssa Smith, Kelsey Mitchell and everybody," she said, later explaining how the excitement has trickled down at the local level.

"I walk around school and everybody's really excited, really pumped up," Nickolson said. "Not just because of Caitlin Clark and the Fever, but even for our school team. I feel a lot of excitement with my friends and other students, even teachers who are just excited to get to know the game of basketball better and see what's next."

The rise in interest in women's basketball and the WNBA has been inspirational and motivational for Ben Davis sophomore Alonna Divine, who said her classmates (both girls and boys) were debating the women's NCAA tournament and tracking players beyond Clark, like Angel Reese, Hailey Van Lith and Kamilla Cardoso.

"It's amazing," she said. "A lot of people are watching women's basketball and I hope it carries over to the WNBA, too."

Asked the significance of having that generational talent playing in Indy, Divine said: "Being able to see players you look up to, who changed the game for you, in-person — it's really fun. It's great."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How Caitlin Clark is already reinvigorating Indiana Fever fans.