WNBA breaks single-season attendance record that had stood since 2002

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NEW YORK (AP) — With 2 1/2 weeks left in the WNBA's regular season, the league has already broken its single-season attendance record.

League officials announced Thursday that the league's 13 teams have drawn a total of 2,501,609 fans over 226 games this season, surpassing the previous mark that was set in 2002 when the league had 16 teams. It also took the WNBA 256 games to reach the milestone in 2002.

The popularity explosion in women's college basketball, spurred initially by the Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry, carried over to the WNBA last season when Clark and Reese were rookies. Sold out arenas became the norm for Clark and the Indiana Fever.

While Clark and Reese have both been hurt this season, ticket sales haven't slowed thanks to the arrival of rookie guard Paige Bueckers in Dallas, the curiosity over the expansion Golden State Valkyries and expanded television coverage.

And after expanding last year's 40-game schedule to 44 games this season, the WNBA is on pace to shatter the previous attendance record.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball