A D1 women’s basketball star has set a new record for the NCAA this weekend, marking a significant moment in college sports and setting her place as a contender for the WNBA.
Caitlin Clark is a player on the Hawkeyes for the University of Iowa, and during her team’s last game of the regular season on Sunday she broke the record for career points, bringing her to a total of 3,685.
Clark netted 35 points against rival Ohio State, leading her team to victory, while simultaneously passing the previous career points record-holder “Pistol” Pete Maravich, who while playing for the Louisiana State University Tigers, scored 3,667 points from 1967 to 1970.
Clark accomplished the task by the end of the the second quarter when she made two free throws, unleashing wild cheers from the crowd.
After the point guard and her teammates won the game against No. 2 Ohio State 93-83, NBA all-star Lebron James, and President Joe Biden took to social media to congratulate Clark on her achievement.
“With 3,685 points and counting, you’ve made your school proud,” President Biden said on X.
“CONGRATS @CaitlinClark22 on becoming the All-Time leading scorer!!” James, who also broke records this weekend, becoming the first NBA player to score 40,000 points, wrote in a post on X.
This is not Clark’s first achievement, as she broke additional records last week as the top-scoring female college player, surpassing totals set by Kelsey Plum and Lynette Woodard, both women who became professional basketball players in the WNBA after their college careers. Woodard and Plum were both in the crowd on Sunday.
Following Clark’s milestone, Nike released a new ad that features the Hawkeyes player, recounting her various other achievements; including conference player of the year, free-throw record, triple-double record, and women’s all-time NCAA leading scorer.
“It takes a once-in-a-generation player to break a record that stood for generations,” the Nike advertisement stated.
Clark is currently the overwhelming favorite to repeat as national player of the year and be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, along with being on track to lead the country in scoring for the third time (as a freshman, sophomore, and senior) and lead in scoring and assists for the second time (as a sophomore and senior).
She would be the first player in Division 1 history to accomplish either.
