Unrivaled breaks Caitlin Clark’s women’s basketball attendance record

Unrivaled recently set a new record for the most-attended regular-season professional women’s basketball game, surpassing a previous mark set by Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.

The 3-on-3 women’s basketball league held a sold-out doubleheader in front of 21,490 fans at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Friday, Jan. 30. The first game featured the Phantom BC beating the Breeze BC 71-68. In the second game of the evening, Marina Mabrey scored a game-high 47 points as the Lunar Owls earned an 85-75 victory over the Rose.

Both games on Friday featured some of the sport’s biggest names, such as Paige Buckers and Cameron Brink representing the Breeze, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Plum on the Phantom, and Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper on the Rose.

Iowa women’s basketball fan favorite Kate Martin is also on the Breeze and finished Friday’s game with 2 points and 2 rebounds in nearly 10 minutes of play.

What are the most attended regular-season women’s basketball games ever?

Before Jan. 30, 2026, the most-attended regular-season women’s basketball game was played between the Washington Mystics and the Indiana Fever at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 19, 2024.

It was the final game of Clark’s rookie season and drew 20,711 fans, according to the game broadcast. Washington won 92-91, and Clark finished with 8 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds.

Unrivaled’s doubleheader on Jan. 30 now ranks No. 1. Beyond regular-season matchups, the WNBA also had a pair of postseason games with 22,076 fans in attendance. Those were games played during the 2003 and 2007 Finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit.

What are the most attended women’s basketball games ever?

However, none of these contests matches the largest women’s basketball attendance ever recorded: 55,646, set during the “Crossover at Kinnick” event in October 2023, when Clark, Martin and the rest of the Iowa women’s basketball team played an exhibition game against DePaul at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa won the contest 94-72. The previous women’s basketball attendance record was 29,619, set in the 2002 NCAA women’s national championship game, when UConn beat Oklahoma 80-72 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

When’s the next time to see Kate Martin play in Unrivaled?

Martin and the Breeze will return to the court on Friday, Feb. 6, against the Hive BC. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. CT on TNT, truTV, and streaming on HBO Max. 

Kate Martin’s Unrivaled stats (2026, 9 games): 9.7 minutes per game, averaging 6.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1 assist.

When will Caitlin Clark play again?

The next opportunity to see Clark return to organized basketball is in March with Team USA. The qualifying tournament for the 2026 FIBA World Cup runs from March 11-17, 2026. Although the U.S. qualified as one of the top 6 teams at the Americup tournament, the team announced its intention to still play in the qualifiers.

The Fever recently announced two preseason games ahead of the 2026 season: one against the New York Liberty on April 25 and another against the Dallas Wings on April 30.

USA TODAY sports reporter James H. Williams contributed to this report.

Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.