WEST LAFAYETTE — Wednesday night, women’s basketball fans sold out Mackey Arena in order to see Iowa superstar (and possible future Indiana Fever guard) Caitlin Clark.

Clark rewarded them with the same fiery passion she brings to every game — she achieved her second consecutive triple-double with 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting (6-of-14 from 3), 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. She also got a technical foul at the end of the third quarter for yelling in front of the officials — which garnered one of the loudest cheers of the night.

"Whenever we go on the road, it's going to be an intense crowd, and that adds a bit to the game," Clark said. "That's a whole other factor we have to deal with ... but I think it's something we're going to face in the Big Ten for the rest of the year."

What’s stopping those fans, who already made their way to West Lafayette, from driving one more hour down I-65 to Indianapolis?

The Fever are rightfully keeping their options open, but the franchise is very interested in the Iowa product. Coach Christie Sides traveled to Iowa City on Dec. 21 to watch Iowa play Loyola-Chicago at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. On Wednesday night, Fever assistant GM Hillary Spears took in the Iowa-Purdue game with other members of the franchise.

"It's not something I think about every single day," Clark said of her impending WNBA draft decision. "I know how well people support women's basketball here. I think that's pretty evident when we take a trip to Purdue, a trip to Indiana, but my focus is on Iowa, and Iowa winning basketball games."

While Clark is the presumed No. 1 pick in the draft, she has not yet officially decided if she will go pro after this season. Clark has a fifth year of eligibility because of a COVID-19 waiver the NCAA gave to all 2020-21 student athletes.

Clark has maintained no matter what, she is staying in the moment and focusing on winning games for the Hawkeyes this season, whether it's her final year in college or not.

"I don't ever want to get caught up in that moment and thinking about that, because I don't want to let what's happening right now pass me by," Clark said. "I seriously mean that, because I know how fast this goes. And what's happening out there, sold-out arenas every single time, when we're on the road or at home, it's special and it's really, really cool. So, I'm just trying to soak that in."

More than an hour and a half before the game tipped off, both Purdue and Iowa fans were crowding Mackey Arena’s main doors — enough so that they nearly spilled out onto Northwestern Avenue. Nearly every entrance around the arena had a line as long as a football field, including kids with signs hoping to get Clark’s attention.

"I try to make time for as many as them as I can," Clark said. "... The way people scream our names and are so excited for our team, and that's something that never gets old, and I was that same kid a few years ago."

Purdue, which averages just under 5,000 fans per game this season, sold out Mackey Arena (14,240) for just the fourth time in program history when Clark came to town. The only other time in the past two decades women’s basketball sold out Mackey Arena was last season against then-No. 4 Indiana — the other two sellouts came before the new millennium.

Whether fans love her or hate her, this kind of fandom, this kind of atmosphere is something Clark can bring to the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis. Sure, fans pack away arenas to see coveted players like Purdue center and reigning national player of the year Zach Edey or USC freshman Bronny James, the son of LeBron James.

But Clark has a barely-seen phenomenon that she brings to nearly every game she plays: at times, she gets more cheers than the home team. The crowd in West Lafayette on Wednesday night became somewhat of a pro-Iowa crowd, easily matching the cheers of Purdue fans. The energy was palpable — and not just because the band was mic’d up just a bit too loud.

Will Indiana be Clark's future home? Time will tell.

No. 3 Iowa 96, Purdue 71

IOWA (16-1): Stuelke 5-9 0-1 10, Clark 8-18 4-4 26, Davis 1-2 0-0 3, Marshall 4-9 0-0 12, Martin 5-10 4-4 15, Gyamfi 0-2 0-0 0, O'Grady 2-2 1-2 5, Goodman 2-2 2-2 6, Affolter 5-6 2-2 14, Feuerbach 1-2 2-2 5, McCabe 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 33-62 15-17 96

PURDUE (9-6): Harper 4-10 3-3 13, Stevenson 3-6 2-2 8, Ellis 5-11 4-4 15, Madison Layden 2-5 5-6 10, Terry 5-9 0-0 10, Reynolds 1-3 2-2 4, Jones 1-7 0-0 3, McKenna Layden 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 4-9 0-0 8, Swanson 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 25-62 16-17 71

Iowa 29 22 22 23 — 96

Purdue 18 19 15 19 — 71

3-Point Goals—Iowa 15-33 (Clark 6-14, Davis 1-2, Marshall 4-8, Martin 1-3, Gyamfi 0-1, Affolter 2-3, Feuerbach 1-2), Purdue 5-20 (Harper 2-8, Stevenson 0-1, Ellis 1-4, Ma.Layden 1-2, Terry 0-1, Reynolds 0-1, Jones 1-1, Smith 0-2). Assists_Iowa 22 (Clark 10), Purdue 15 (Ellis 6). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Iowa 40 (Clark 10), Purdue 23 (Ma.Layden 6). Total Fouls_Iowa 16, Purdue 18. Technical Fouls_Iowa Clark 1. A_14,876.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark triple-double lights up Purdue, sold-out Mackey Arena