Iowa Hawkeyes superstar guard Caitlin Clark is impressing everyone, including the mighty LaBron James. On Sunday (March 3), Clark became the NCAA’s Division-I all-time leading scorer in basketball, male or female, passing Hall of Famer “Pistol” Pete Maravich. That was during Iowa’s big win against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Clark started the game needing 18 points to pass Maravich’s record. His all-time mark was 3,667 points. It was widely expected that she would pass it, and she easily did. She passed that record with two free throws in the final second of the first half. But, don’t get me wrong. She isn’t about records and media attention. She was just thinking about the game at the time, not breaking a new record.
When asked if she knew that she beat the record with those two free throws as she was sinking them, she said in a halftime interview, “Not really, but then when they announce it and everybody screams, that’s when I knew.”
Caitlin Clark: The Numbers
Clark closed out the game with 35 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds. That helped No. 6 Iowa conquer over No. 2 Ohio State 93-83. Now, her career total is 3,685 points.
After the game, she said, “I’m just very thankful for all these people that are going to stick around and support us and have supported us over the course of my four years. It probably won’t hit me until a little bit later but just gonna enjoy it with my family and my teammates and just really thankful to be in this place.”
The 22-year-old senior is declaring for the WNBA next season, and she’ll easily be the first draft pick. It looks like she’ll be playing for the Indiana Fever, as that team won the lottery for the No. 1 draft pick. Even though Clark is a senior, she could have stayed for one more year at the college level, but nobody was surprised when she chose to go pro.
Caitlin Clark Gets Shoutout from LaBron James
LeBron James sent a message of congratulations out via X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, stating, “CONGRATS
@CaitlinClark22 on becoming the All-Time leading scorer!!” with a bunch of emojis. It’s not easy to get the great James’ attention, so that’s huge for both Clark and women’s basketball, in general.
Last month, Clark earned the title of the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball. That record was last held by the University of Washington’s Kelsey Plum. Clark also became the all-time leading scorer in major women’s college basketball history. That record was last held by Lynette Woodard, who played for Kansas before the NCAA was established.
Her Journey
It hasn’t been an easy journey for Clark. Speaking with TNT Sports last fall, she said, “I started in a year where it was Covid, and you’re playing in front of just your family and cardboard cutouts.”
She added that the adversity makes these moments even sweeter.
“And now to be in my senior year, playing in front of 15,000 people, it’s special, it’s historic,” she said. “It’s not anything that’s really been done in women’s basketball before.”