Caitlin Clark stood alone at the free throw line on Sunday and made the foul shots that left her standing alone atop the all-time NCAA Division I scoring chart.
The flash and pizzazz of her game have made her the biggest name in all of college basketball. Yet it was two free throws after a technical foul that pushed Clark past the late Pete Maravich’s 54-year-old record in No. 6 Iowa’s 93-83 win over No. 2 Ohio State.
Clark entered the game in Iowa City needing 18 points to pass Maravich’s total of 3,667, amassed in just 83 games over three seasons at LSU (1967-70). She finished with 35 to run her total to 3,685 in 130 games.
Maravich’s mark fell four days after Clark broke Lynette Woodard’s major college women’s record with 33 points against Minnesota on Wednesday.
Best known for her long 3-pointers, Clark was called on to go to the foul line after Cotie McMahon was assessed a technical for giving her a little push during a dead ball with less than a second to go in the first half.
Clark had no immediate reaction after the second shot went through, as if it hadn’t sunk in yet.
Asked in a television interview at halftime if she was aware of the record when she stepped to the line, Clark said: “Not really. When they announced it and everybody screamed, that’s when I knew.”
Then the celebration was on, with Clark jumping around and pumping her fists in the air.
She had gotten off to a slow start Sunday. Her first shot was a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim. She missed a layup and from deep on the right wing before making a 3 from the left side for her first basket.
After starting 2 for 7, she made 3 of her next 4 shots — including three straight 3s, each deeper than the previous.
Woodard was among the attendees at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to help Clark celebrate senior day. Also on hand were basketball great Maya Moore, who was Clark’s favorite player, and Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
“It’s a great time for women’s basketball,” Woodard said in a television interview. “Caitlin is leading the way. As she was chipping away, I said records are made to be broken. Also, they’re made to be honored. Because of her, my records are being honored. She’s gone beyond that now, she’s gone beyond Pete … I passed her the baton to go ahead and burst through that ceiling, and I’m so happy for her.”
On Thursday, Clark announced she would enter the 2024 WNBA draft and skip the fifth year of eligibility available to athletes who competed during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever, and the WNBA already is seeing a rise in ticket sales.
Logitix, which researches prices on ticket resale platforms, reported an average sale price of $598 for a ticket to Sunday’s game purchased since Feb. 1.
Kiran Nanjappa, who was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and now lives in Denver, said he paid more than $200 for his ticket.
“She’s a truly once-in-a-lifetime player,” he said. “I’ve been watching Iowa basketball for 40 years, and I’ve never seen a player like her, men’s or women’s. I’ll just say this — I paid more to see her today than I paid to see Michael Jordan three times at the end of his career. And I never thought I’d say that.”
Clark is all but assured of one or two more appearances at the arena in Iowa City. Iowa is projected to be a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament, meaning it would be at home for the first two rounds.
Pearl Moore of Francis Marion owns the overall women’s record with 4,061 points from 1975-79 at the small-college level in the AIAW. Moore had 177 points at Anderson Junior College before enrolling at Francis Marion.
Clark is 376 points behind Moore, and she has only two to nine more games left in an Iowa uniform depending on how far the Hawkeyes advance in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
The fall of Maravich’s record is subject to scrutiny.
Maravich’s all-time scoring mark is one of the more remarkable in sports history. There was no shot clock or 3-point line in his era. The 3-point line was adopted in 1986.
Maravich averaged 44.2 points per game. He scored more than 60 in a game four times, topping out at 69 against Alabama on Feb. 7, 1970.
Clark averages 28.3 points for her career. Her career-best output was 49 points against Michigan on Feb. 15, when she passed Kelsey Plum as the NCAA women’s Division I career scoring leader.
Clark has 55 games with at least 30 points, the most of any player in men’s or women’s college basketball over the last 25 years. She has six triple-doubles this season and 17 in her career.
“What Caitlin’s done has been amazing. She’s fantastic player, great for the women’s game and basketball in general,” Maravich’s eldest son, Jaeson, told The Associated Press last week.
For more Hawkeyes coverage, follow @BlakeHornTV and @HawkeyeHQ on Twitter and Facebook. You can find Hawkeye Headquarters at HawkeyeHQ.com all season.
EARLIER UPDATE: Caitlin Clark has another career record on her astounding resume: the most points by any major college women’s player to ever take the court.
Iowa’s superstar guard scored 33 points to lead the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes to a 108-60 romp of Minnesota, pushing her past Lynette Woodard on the all-time list with 3,650 points.
Clark left little doubt she’d get there by dribbling left off a screen and swishing a 3-pointer from the top of the key just 13 seconds into the game. She swished her first four 3-pointers, three of them from extra deep, and had 15 points in the first 3:18 of the game.
The heat check came midway through the first quarter, a flick from the top that bounced off the back rim and prompted a half-hearted “Overrated!” chant from a few wise guys in the Minnesota student section.
Clark had 21 points at halftime. She spent most of the second half flashing her passing skills to find open teammates, but finally with 4:17 left she buried her eighth 3-pointer of the game to pass Woodard. She also set the NCAA single-season record for 3-pointers in the process.
Clark also had the 17th triple-double of her career.
Woodard totaled 3,649 points from 1977-81 for Kansas when the sport was under the purveyance of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, before the NCAA sanctioned women’s basketball. Earlier this month, Clark passed Kelsey Plum (3,527) as the all-time NCAA women’s scoring leader.
Pete Maravich (3,667) is the all-time major college leader for either gender, just 17 points ahead of Clark. Pistol Pete played for LSU from 1967-70 and, like Woodard, in the era preceding the 3-point shot.
Pearl Moore of Francis Marion has the overall women’s record with 4,061 points from 1975-79 at the small-college level in the AIAW. Moore had 177 points in junior college before enrolling at Francis Marion.
There are three other small-college players from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, including current University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy guard Grace Beyer, ahead of Clark.
In front of a sellout crowd of more than 14,000 fans at Williams Arena, the 11th sellout in 11 true road games this season for Clark and her crew, the Hawkeyes cruised past the Gophers to make the record more palatable for the fourth-year player.
Clark has graciously handled the spotlight on her individual feats while trying to stress the importance of team performance, with two losses in the previous four games costing Iowa an opportunity for the Big Ten regular season championship. Ohio State clinched the title on Wednesday and visits Iowa on Sunday in a clash of conference and national powerhouses.
For more Hawkeyes coverage, follow @BlakeHornTV and @HawkeyeHQ on Twitter and Facebook. You can find Hawkeye Headquarters at HawkeyeHQ.com all season.
EARLIER UPDATE: Caitlin Clark of Iowa has extended her NCAA career scoring record in women’s basketball to 3,617 points and is now 33 points away from her next milestone — breaking Lynette Woodard’s major college scoring record.
The men’s NCAA Division I record is held by LSU’s Pete Maravich, who finished his career with 3,667 points. He did it with no 3-point line and in only three seasons (1967-70); freshmen at that point weren’t allowed to play on varsity teams.
LAST TIME OUT
Clark, last year’s AP player of the year, finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in Sunday’s 101-85 win over Illinois. She was 6 of 18 from the field, including 5 of 14 in 3-pointers, while playing 33 minutes. The Hawkeyes topped the 100-point mark for the ninth time this season.
UP NEXT
No. 6 Iowa visits Minnesota on Wednesday night, the teams’ second meeting of the season. Clark had 35 points and 10 assists in the Dec. 30 win over the Golden Gophers.
HOW TO WATCH
Tipoff is 9 p.m. Eastern in Minneapolis. The game will be streamed on Peacock.
WHO ARE THE ALL-TIME CAREER SCORERS?
Woodard, a former Kansas star, holds the major women’s college basketball record with 3,649 points from 1977-81, before the NCAA took over women’s sports from the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.
Pearl Moore of Francis Marion has the overall women’s record with 4,061 points from 1975-79 at the small-college level in the AIAW. Moore had 177 of her points at Anderson Junior College before enrolling at Francis Marion.
The men’s NCAA Division I record is held by LSU’s Pete Maravich, who finished his career with 3,667 points. He did it with no 3-point line and in only three seasons (1967-70); freshmen at that point weren’t allowed to play on varsity teams.
For more Hawkeyes coverage, follow @BlakeHornTV and @HawkeyeHQ on Twitter and Facebook. You can find Hawkeye Headquarters at HawkeyeHQ.com all season.
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