Caitlin Clark breaks Pete Maravich's scoring record. What now for the Iowa star?
Caitlin Clark is now the all-time leading scorer in college basketball history. So how can things continue? Lindsay Schnell of USA TODAY Sports explains.
With her favorite player and another great women's scorer watching, Caitlin Clark became the leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball on Sunday over Ohio State.
The record was expected – Clark started the game just 18 points behind Pete Maravich – but it still caused a celebration. When Clark hit two free throws with 0.3 seconds left in the first half, Iowa fans went wild. Also in the audience were former WNBA MVP Maya Moore, Clark's childhood idol, and Lynette Woodard, previously the leading scorer in women's basketball history.
It was a fitting moment for the homegrown superstar, who said earlier this week that this would be her final college season and she would enter the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Maravich scored 3,667 points at LSU from 1967 to 1970, before freshmen were eligible and the 3-point limit existed. His record has stood for more than five decades (although Antoine Davis nearly surpassed that record when he scored 3,664 points for Detroit Mercy from 2018 to 2023). While some have argued that we shouldn't compare Clark and Maravich because they played in such different eras, there's no question that it's a milestone that deserves recognition.
And she's not finished yet. Clark will continue to add to her career scoring total as Iowa enters the postseason. The Hawkeyes have a bye to the Big Ten quarterfinals and will play their first game of the conference tournament on Friday. After successfully completing the conference tournament, Iowa will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament as a top-four seed.
It's entirely possible that Clark, one of the most prolific scorers in basketball history, ends up setting a record that may never be broken.
Well, that was disappointing.
Instead of breaking Maravich's all-time scoring record with a three-pointer, as she did when she passed Kelsey Plum, Clark did it with a free throw with less than a second left in the first half.
Ohio State's Cotie McMahon had easily passed Clark, but Clark did her best to imitate Cristiano Ronaldo and McMahon was hit by a technical error. Clark made the first free throw to tie Maravich, then the second to secure the record.
When the halftime buzzer sounded, Clark's teammates jumped up and down and the crowd went wild.
“Not really,” Clark told Fox’s Allison Williams at halftime. “But when they announced it and everyone was screaming, I knew it. Pretty cool.” – Nancy Armor
After Molly Davis played a great defensive game and released the ball, she lies on the ground.
Davis fell awkwardly as she stepped in front of an Ohio State pass and immediately grabbed her right knee. When she replayed it, it looked like she had severely twisted her right ankle. She is clearly in a lot of pain and Iowa staff had to carry her off the ground.
As the crowd chanted her name, Davis gave a thumbs up as she walked back into the tunnel and into the training room. Iowa had a 36-26 lead when Davis went down.
My goodness, Iowa plays well at home.
A 17-3 run midway through the first quarter helped the Hawkeyes take a lead of as many as 15 points. Part of that success came from Iowa thoroughly beating Ohio State's vaunted press. Iowa already has a 7-2 advantage in fast break points and Clark already has five assists (and just one turnover).
Meanwhile, after two 3s in the first quarter, Clark is now just 12 points away from overtaking Maravich.
Ohio State seems to be calming down a bit. Jacy Sheldon already has nine points, but if the Buckeyes want to get another win over Iowa, Cotie McMahon, who currently has just two points, will have to step up offensively.
Clark's scoring prowess draws attention, but I assure you her court vision and passing are just as lethal. She had just three points but five assists in the first seven minutes of the game, including a nifty pass through traffic to Hannah Stuelke. Stuelke fouled on the layup and made the free throw to convert the three-point play and give Iowa a 22-10 lead.
FOX Sports analyst Sara Kustok said it best: “This building could explode.”
It's LOUD in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the Buckeyes seem unsettled by it. Clark has scored just three points so far and made just one of four scoring attempts, but Iowa, a team not known for its defense, has already forced Ohio State into three turnovers.
And while Clark may not be shooting particularly well to begin with, her team came to play and scored on 4 of 6 attempts. Overall, Iowa is shooting 50% from the field. This is a good opportunity to take revenge for one of the worst defeats of the season.
Here's how to watch Iowa vs. Ohio State
No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Iowa can be seen nationally on Fox and can be streamed on the Fox Sports app. The game can also be found on Fubo. For Fox, Gus Johnson will join the play-by-play show alongside analyst Sarah Kustok. Allison Williams takes on additional work.
Caitlin Clark got the ultimate surprise on Senior Day – a visit from her favorite player.
Anyone who has spoken to Clark knows that as a young girl she quite idolized Maya Moore, the former WNBA MVP who led the Minnesota Lynx to four WNBA titles during her eight-year career. Clark's father, Brent, made the 3.5-hour drive from their home in Des Moines to Minneapolis to watch Moore, and once after a game, Caitlin ran onto the floor to hug Moore. Caitlin said of meeting her idol: “Ten seconds can make a big difference in someone’s life.”
On Sunday morning, however, she was well over 10 seconds ahead.
Clark was standing outside the Iowa locker room after the shooting and was being interviewed when Moore walked onto the scene. Clark screamed in excitement and hugged her hero again.
“I feel like I’m a fangirl,” said Clark, clearly overwhelmed with emotion. It was a pure, joyful moment.
Earlier this season, USA TODAY Sports spoke with Moore, who praised Clark's performance in the NCAA Tournament and said that an athlete who is able to thrive when the lights are brightest, “that's the sign that someone is the right person.” – Lindsay Schnell
If women's basketball fans and advocates want to be honest about why the Caitlin Clark phenomenon is breaking through in a way that superstars in earlier eras of their sport did not, they must acknowledge an insignificant but crucial factor in their popularity.
While grievances in sports are a powerful tool and have long been necessary to advance equality and create opportunities for women, Clark has never presented himself as the face of a larger cause. Part of her appeal to fans who have either ignored or mocked women's basketball in the past — mostly men, of course — is that they are not ashamed to pay attention to it. Her charisma and style stand for themselves.
And as this weekend approaches and the Clark narrative now turns to the 3,667-point mark that has always been associated with Pete Maravich, her achievements should remain right there.
Alone.
Just like Pistol Pete.
Read Dan Wolken’s column here.
The record and the numbers behind it really don't matter.
How many points does Caitlin Clark have at the end of this season, how many more points is that than Pete Maravich – they all become footnotes at some point. Future answers to quiz questions.
What matters is how Clark's assault on the record books captivated the country and reflects a seismic shift in the view of women's sports and the athletes who play them.
Read Nancy Armor's column here.
Can anyone question Caitlin Clark's NCAA scoring record?
Kelsey Plum's record stood for seven years. Iowa coach Lisa Bluder believes Clark's could last longer.
“This record will stand for a long time and I’m just glad she’s wearing the black and gold,” Bluder said.
Bluder also said she thought it was great that Clark set the record with a Logo 3, the shot that has become her trademark.
“You do it, you do it good, girl,” Bluder said. – Nancy Armor
Clark enters Sunday's game with 3,650 career points, just 18 shy of passing Pete Maravich on the all-time scoring list. She is averaging 32.1 points per game this season with one regular-season game, Big Ten and NCAA Tournament games remaining.
Clark's highest-scoring game was also her record-setting performance on February 15 against Michigan in the 2023-24 season, when she scored 49 points. Clark shot 16 of 31 in the game, including 9 of 18 from 3. She also grabbed five rebounds and dished out 13 assists in the 106-89 win.
What type of Caitlin Clark fan are you? Take the quiz.
Do you love Caitlin Clark or do you love Caitlin Clark?
Love her, hate her, like her or think she's overrated, one thing is for sure: the senior guard from Iowa has serious game.
Don't know exactly where you stand? We can help you. This USA TODAY Sports quiz will reveal the answer to a crucial question as we prepare for March Madness: What kind of Caitlin Clark fan are you? – Lindsay Schnell
Sheryl Swoopes speaks to Caitlin Clark after viral comments
After making a controversial dig at Caitlin Clark as she neared the all-time NCAA women's scoring record, Sheryl Swoopes said she spoke to the Iowa star about her comments, thanks to LSU's Angel Reese.
The three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player appeared on the broadcast of the Baylor-Texas Tech game on Sunday, where she said Reese helped facilitate a conversation between her and Clark.
“A few weeks ago I contacted Angel and had a really good conversation with Angel on the phone and sent a message to Caitlin. She replied. She and I went back and forth,” Swoopes said. “I won’t.” Share what she said. I'll leave that up to her if she wants to share it. But I have to say what I said to her was, “I made a mistake when I said it was your fifth year even though it's your fourth.” ” – Jordan Mendoza
Clark is 1.80 m tall. Tall guards have become more and more common in women's basketball over the last decade, and Clark's size absolutely helps her because she is able to see past defenders on the kickoff and helps her gain vertical separation when taking a shot executes.
Also of note: Clark, who is fairly skinny, worked hard to put on eight pounds of muscle last summer, and that has made a big difference in her game, especially when driving to the rim.
By now you've probably heard that Iowa All-American Caitlin Clark, the reigning National Player of the Year, tends to sell out every arena she plays in. But taking a closer look at #Clarkonomics — as ESPN analyst Debbie Antonelli called it — USA TODAY reporter Jim Sergent put together a vivid overview of how much Iowa fans will spend and how far they will travel to see Clark in person see. The numbers are telling to say the least.
WNBA legend Sue Bird: Caitlin Clark will have early success in the league
Four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird believes Caitlin Clark's play will have a good impact on the WNBA.
“I do think she has a chance to be great,” Bird said during an appearance on “The Sports Media Podcast” with Richard Deitsch, which airs in full on Thursday.
Bird credits the Iowa star's reach as a key weapon in her success. (After all, Clark broke the all-women's NCAA scoring record last week with a 35-foot logo shot.) “I think a lot of it is due to her shooting from long range. This is your separator. You are.” “I'm not really used to guarding people out there,” Bird explained. – Cydney Henderson
Here is a breakdown of Clark's points for the Hawkeyes this season:
● in Minnesota, 02/28/24: 33 points
● vs. Illinois, 02/25/24: 24 points
- at Indiana, 02/22/24: 24 points
- vs. Michigan, 02/15/24: 49 points (season high, school record for a single game)
- vs. Nebraska, 02/11/24: 31 points
- vs. Penn State, 2/8/24: 27 points
- at Maryland, 02/03/24: 38 points
- at Northwestern, 1/31/24: 35 points
- vs. Nebraska, January 27, 2024: 38 points
- at Ohio State, January 21, 2024: 45 points
- vs. Wisconsin, January 16, 2024: 32 points
- vs. Indiana, January 13, 2024: 30 points
- at Purdue, January 10, 2024: 26 points
- at Rutgers, January 5, 2024: 29 points
- vs. Michigan State, February 1, 2024: 40 points
- vs. Minnesota, December 30, 2023: 35 points
- vs. Loyola Chicago, December 21, 2023: 35 points
- vs. Cleveland State, December 16, 2023: 38 points
- in Wisconsin, December 10, 2023: 28 points
- vs. Iowa State, December 6, 2023: 35 points
- vs. Bowling Green, December 2nd, 2023: 24 points
- vs. Kansas State, November 26, 2023: 32 points
- vs. Florida Gulf Coast, November 25, 2023: 21 points
- vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, November 24, 2023: 29 points
- vs. Drake, November 19, 2023: 35 points
- vs. Kansas State, November 16, 2023: 24 points
- at UNI, November 12, 2023: 24 points
- vs. Virginia Tech, November 9, 2023: 44 points
- vs. FDU, November 6th, 2023: 28 points