University of Iowa basketball superstar Caitlin Clark broke the NCAA women’s and men’s basketball all-time scorer record with 3,685 career points in a Feb. 15 game against the Michigan Wolverines. She has since become a worldwide sensation, motivating young girls to dream big.
Growing up in sports has fostered her love for basketball and inspired her to push herself to new limits each time she steps on the court she has said. She has always been an unbelievable player, even playing against older athletes at a young age. According to ESPN, her impressive skills for her age allowed her to earn offers from multiple NCAA Division I colleges before she even began high school. During her sophomore year, ESPN acknowledged her as the No. 1 female player in the class of 2020.
Clark’s aggressive offense allows her to dominate the competition on the court. Not only does she hold the University of Iowa’s career scoring record, but she also leads the NCAA basketball league in points. The all-time scoring records were previously held by Kelsey Plum, with 3,527 career points, and Pete Maravich with 3,667 points.
In the game against the Michigan Wolverines where Clark first surpassed the women’s record, her shot accuracy made this no issue for her to beat. From 35 feet behind the 3-point line, she got the ball in the net and scored Iowa’s first 8 points on her record-breaking night. Back-to-back threes pushed her past the record. Her team continued to play for a moment before stepping into a timeout to celebrate her victory.
She celebrated with teammates, coaches and an electric crowd surrounding her. The stadium was beaming for her, as no player had set the record in seven years or had ever scored this many points. Her hard work, athleticism and talent have only furthered her already successful career.
In a later game against The Ohio State University, Clark broke the previous NCAA men’s basketball all time scoring record. Although Clark won’t technically be labeled as the leading scorer for men’s college basketball because she plays in the women’s league, this is still nonetheless an incredible and impressive milestone for her.
Many celebrities and companies praised her, including President Joe Biden, LeBron James and Nike. James and President Biden both posted messages tagging her on X congratulating her on the accomplishment. Nike soon released an advertisement for Clark that aired moments after she broke the record.
Clark’s talent and agility is recognized all across the country. She has helped to put Women’s College Basketball further into the forefront of college sports and get the word around about how special the league is. She is bringing more viewership in than ever, and is getting spectators to talk about each game. This positive attention to the league will only help expand women’s sports beyond college basketball. Bringing more awareness and regard for women will help instill confidence among female athletes, especially those starting their athletic journey at a young age. Clark is a positive female role model that many young girls can look up to and strive to work as hard as she does.
On Feb. 29, Clark announced on social media that she would be entering the 2024 Women’s National Basketball Association draft. Having played during 2020-21, she technically still holds eligibility to play a fifth year of college basketball due to COVID-19 restrictions. Despite this rule, she has decided to take a step away from the league and push herself to begin a new chapter. According to Indiana Fever, she is predicted to be the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Her talent has been widely recognized throughout her college career, starting with 26.6 average points per game in her freshman year and now as a senior with an average of 31.9 points per game.
Clark will go down as not just the premier offensive female college player but also the greatest college scorer of all time. As a senior with an impressive career start who is set to succeed in the WNBA, Clark’s future looks very bright. She closed off her college career finishing second in the nation and made it all the way to the National Championship before ultimately falling to the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Photo credit: “240310 Iowa_Nebraska_JohnMc252” by John Mac is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
