The stage is set for Caitlin Clark to be crowned NCAA Division I's all-time leading scorer when sixth-seeded Iowa closes the regular season against second-seeded Ohio State on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Four days after breaking Lynette Woodard's all-time collegiate women's record, Clark would surpass Pete Maravich's point total of 3,617 points when she scores 18 points against the Buckeyes.
Woodard was among those in attendance at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to support Clark in celebrating Senior Day. Also in attendance were basketball great Maya Moore, who was Clark's favorite player, and Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
On Thursday, Clark announced she would enter the 2024 WNBA Draft, skipping the fifth year of eligibility for 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 is already seeing an increase in ticket sales.
Logitix, which studies prices on ticket resale platforms, reported an average selling price of $598 for a ticket for this game purchased since February 1.
“Listen, this is the biggest ticket in the world right now,” Woodard said in a pregame interview with ESPN. “Hey, I’m going to enjoy this now.”
Clark is almost certain to make one or two more appearances at the Iowa City Arena after Sunday. Iowa is projected to be the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, meaning it will be at home in the first two rounds.
Francis Marion's Pearl Moore holds the all-time women's record at the AIAW's small college level with 4,061 points from 1975 to 1979. Moore had 177 points at Anderson Junior College before enrolling at Francis Marion.
Clark trails Moore by 411 points and has just three to 10 games left in an Iowa uniform, depending on how far the Hawkeyes advance in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
When Clark overtakes Maravich, performance will be put to the test.
Maravich's all-time record is one of the most remarkable in sports history: it was set in just 83 games over three seasons from 1967 to 1970. Back then there was no shot clock or 3-point line. The 3-point line was introduced in 1986.
Maravich averaged 44.2 points per game. He scored more than 60 points in a game four times, scoring 69 points on February 7, 1970 against Alabama.
Clark is averaging 28.3 points for her career and will play her 130th game on Sunday. Her career-best performance was 49 points against Michigan on Feb. 15, when she passed Kelsey Plum for the NCAA women's Division I scoring leader.
Clark has 54 games with at least 30 points, the most of any player in men's or women's college basketball in the last 25 years. She has six triple-doubles this season and 17 in her career.
With Clark as the headliner, Iowa has helped 30 of 32 games this season sell out or break attendance records. The only two games that didn't happen were at a Thanksgiving tournament in Florida.
“She’s just a phenomenal, phenomenal player who helped change the women’s game,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “She helped bring an enormous amount of light, respect and spectators to women’s football. She's gorgeous. She’s a competitor.”
“You either love her or you hate her, but usually you hate her because she competes so hard. I have a lot of respect for someone who is so competitive and has never hit a shot she didn’t like.”
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AP freelance writer John Bohnenkamp in Iowa City, Iowa, and AP sports writer Larry Lage in Ann Arbor, Michigan, contributed to this report.
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