Saturday night was a big moment for the WNBA as Caitlin Clark was back at Target Center and her childhood hero, Maya Moore Irons, had her jersey retired by the Lynx.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark signs autographs before Saturday night’s game against the Lynx at Target Center. (Ayrton Breckenridge/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

They lined the streets and skyways of Minneapolis. They crowded into a corner of Target Center, waiting for their hero to leave the court, then cried when she signed shirts and programs.

Caitlin Clark performed her latest star turn Saturday, the night that the Lynx retired the jersey of Maya Moore Irons.

Clark was once one of those children begging for attention from a hero. Clark grew up in Iowa, idolizing the great Minnesota Lynx teams, particularly the great player then known as Maya Moore.

On Saturday, before the Lynx defeated Clark’s Indiana Fever 90-80, Clark remembered another night in Target Center.

“I think it was my first WNBA game,” Clark said. “I didn’t have a Sharpie, and I was at the age where I didn’t have a phone. I kind of ran away from my dad because I wanted to meet the players, and I just ran up to her and gave her a hug. There’s no documentation of that moment, but, in my brain, that was one of the most pivotal moments of my life and probably my entire basketball career.”

The Lynx probably could have maximized ticket sales by playing host to Clark and their latest jersey retirement from their four championship teams on different nights. Instead, they chose poetry.

Moore Irons’ brilliance led to Clark’s ambition, and both changed the perception of women’s basketball.

There are still those who sneer at women’s sports. There are also those who offer backhand compliments, pretending to appreciate women’s “fundamentals.”

Cheryl Reeve praised Caitlin Clark for her pace and passing ability ahead of Fever-Lynx (nuna)