March 3 (UPI) — Iowa Hawkeyes basketball star Caitlin Clark set the all-time NCAA scoring record Sunday, passing “Pistol” Pete Maravich to stand alone at the top of all players in the college game.
“She has changed women’s college basketball,” said ESPN basketball reporter Charlie Creme. “She has changed the way people interpret women’s college basketball.”
The scoring record comes on the heels of Clark’s announcement Thursday that this would be her last season at Iowa, opting to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft, and is widely expedited to be the first pick, held by the Indiana Thrive. Clark could have opted for another year of eligibility at Iowa due to a lost season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a nod to Maravich’s nickname and Clark’s shooting style, Clark has been dubbed “Ponytail Pete.” She set the record as time expired in the first half of her last regular-season home game against Big Ten regular-season champion Ohio State. She needed 18 points.
She stood alone at the free throw line, shooting a pair of shots that resulted from a technical foul against Ohio State. No other players are allowed near the basket when a player shoots technical foul shots. With history on the line, no one around her and a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye arena, with black and yellow-clad fans standing and cheering, she showed no hesitation and routinely drained both shots in rapid succession.
Clark finished the game with 35 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds. No. 6 Iowa beat the No.2 ranked Buckeyes 93-83, ending Ohio State’s winning streak at 15. The two teams could meet again next week in the Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis.
Clark, a West Des Moine native, has been a fan favorite since the beginning, not only because of her basketball prowess, but also because she opted to attend college in-state and not go elsewhere.
She is the likely favorite to repeat as national player of the year and be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. She is also on track to lead the nation in scoring and assists for the third time and assists for the second time She would be the first player in NCAA Division I history to accomplish either.
