On March 3, in No. 6 Iowa’s 93-83 win over No. 2 Ohio State, Caitlin Clark became the NCAA Division 1 all-time scoring leader in both men’s and women’s basketball. Passing Pete Maravich’s record 3,667 points, Clark completed her last regular season home game, totaling 35 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and finished with 3,685 career points.
Clark broke the record at the free-throw line before going into the locker room at halftime.
“Honestly, I didn’t really care. It was cool to hear everybody just start like, screaming, and I thought that gave us a lot of momentum going into halftime,” Clark said she was excited, but it wasn’t her main focus.
The Hawkeyes pulled off a victory against their Big Ten rival Buckeyes after losing in their last match up and to top it off, Iowa ended Ohio State’s 15-game win streak. The two teams are the top seeds in the Big Ten tournament and provide an amusing and riveting game for their fans. There has never been anything like it in women’s basketball when an individual player has drawn so much attention and interest from fans wanting to see her play. Because Clark has been the “must-see” attraction all season, the team has sold out arenas where some tickets sell for hundreds even thousands of dollars.
“Nobody’s ever had a player like this. She’s a combination of Pete Maravich and Steph Curry,” said Fox announcer Gus Johnson on CBS Sports. “She plays in a different dimension and realm. Her ability to see, understand, and anticipate the game and then from a physical aspect shoot the ball from almost anywhere when she gets into the front court.”
Schools that have hosted Iowa have seen an incredible attendance increase of over 150% compared to their other home games. The Northwestern Wildcats had their first arena sellout in school history when they played Iowa on January 31. Research on AP News also shows that the top 5 most in-demand NCAA women’s games have featured the Hawkeyes.
“It’s honestly hard for me to wrap my head around. It’s crazy, it’s crazy the way people scream my name and really support us and I try to make time for as many of them as I can,” Clark said in an interview on AP News. “Like whenever I walk off the court, it’s so special just the way people scream our names and are so excited for our team. And that’s something that never gets old. I was that kid a few years back, so it’s crazy how time flies and I just try to soak it all in, every single moment.”
Clark explained after the game against Ohio State how she credits herself for staying true as a major part of her success. She said she loves being in the moment and all the minutes she’s spent during practices and games. The biggest part of her maturity and growth has been able to handle and balance everything that’s going on around her.
Clark announced on social media that she will be entering the WNBA draft after the season ends. She is currently the favorite and the No. 1 overall pick. Despite all her records, Clark said this is not how she wants to be remembered.
“It’s hard for me to wrap my head around everything that’s going on. I think I’m just trying to soak in the moment, a record is a record and I don’t want that to be the reason people remember me. I hope people remember me for the way I played with a smile on my face and my competitive fire. Sure they can remember the wins, but also the fun my teammates and I had together,” Clark voiced in an interview after the Ohio State game.
