After breaking the NCAA women’s scoring record less than two weeks ago, Iowa guard Caitlin Clark pulled off another historic feat on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
Clark poured in 33 points in a 108-60 victory over Minnesota, passing Kansas great Lynette Woodard to become the all-time major-college women’s basketball scoring leader.
Woodard starred at Kansas from 1977-81 and scored 3,649 points. Clark entered Wednesday with 3,617, needing exactly 33 to set the record. She reached the mark by hitting a 3-pointer with 4:29 left in the fourth quarter.
“I know what it must mean to her because I’ve been there,” Woodard told ESPN. “I would have some wisdom for her if we ever talk, and I hope that we will one day.
“I think she’s an awesome player. I would love to meet her. But what I say would be between her and I, because I can share some things that nobody knows. She will be the only one that will understand what I was saying because she’s doing it.”
On Feb. 15, Clark became the all-time scoring leader in NCAA women’s basketball history when she scored 49 points against Michigan. That pushed her past the 3,527 points that Kelsey Plum scored for Washington from 2013-17.
The catch is that the NCAA didn’t sanction women’s basketball during Woodard’s stellar career and doesn’t recognize her statistics. At that time, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was the governing body for college women’s basketball.
Earlier this week, Woodard called on the NCAA to recognize her accomplishments.
“I want the NCAA governing body to know that they should respect the (AIAW) players. They should respect the history. Include us and our accomplishments,” Woodard said on ESPN. “This is the era of diversity, equity and inclusion. They should include us. We deserve it.”
Woodard was a four-time All-American at Kansas, won a gold medal for the United States in the 1984 Olympics and became the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters. She was elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.
There is still history to be made for Clark, who is now 18 points away from becoming the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer for both men’s and women’s basketball. Pete Maravich currently holds that title with 3,667 points. He played for LSU from 1967-70.
–Field Level Media
