EVANSTON, Ill. — At 6 a.m. on Jan. 31, Madisyn Bellin woke up, took a quick shower, put on her Caitlin Clark jersey and left her home in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, bound for Northwestern University and the chance to see her favorite basketball player.
Along with her mother, brother and boyfriend, Bellin pulled up to Welsh Ryan Arena at around 10 a.m., nine hours before Iowa and Northwestern would tip off. No other fans would arrive until around 2 p.m., according to Bellin’s mother, Kari Supple, who packed plenty of snacks for the long wait in the cold. Northwestern, like many schools, operates its women’s college hoops games with mostly general admission seating, so being early matters.
“My goal was to make sure my kids had the best experience,” Supple said.
When the doors opened at 5:30 p.m., they secured spots in the first row of the corner, next to the visitors tunnel. Supple, whose sister played softball at Northwestern, consulted her contacts there to scout out the best spot to see Clark, the Iowa superstar who has captivated her daughter and so many others.