Caitlin Clark breaks record (Photo from Google images)
We can now officially congratulate Caitlin Clark on breaking the record for the most points scored in women’s basketball!
Caitlin Clark is the biggest superstar in college basketball (men’s or women’s). That’s not just me being a fan, Caitlin Clark is HER! Caitlin scored 49 points on February 15th to pass Kelsey Plum’s NCAA record for the most career points in women’s college basketball. On Wednesday, Caitlin scored 33 points to pass AIAW legend Lynette Woodard’s 3,649-point record.
AIAW
Woodard played for Kansas from 1977-1981. During this time women’s college basketball was not recognized by the NCAA. Women’s basketball was governed by the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). In 1982, the NCAA officially sanctioned women’s college basketball but they do not acknowledge any players or the stats prior to 1982. It’s not surprising that the NCAA does include coaches’ wins and losses from the AIAW years in their career totals. Just another example of how the NCAA punishes student athletes.
Star Power
The star power for a girl from Iowa has been incredible to watch over the years. Caitlin has over 1.2 million followers on social media. She makes seven figures annually through her endorsement deals with Nike, State Farm, Gatorade, Hyvee, Buick, and Bose. She was the driving force behind Iowa’s women’s basketball team doubling its ticket revenue, from $767,069 in 2021-22 to $1.4 million in 2022-23, according to Sportico. (This data is from Joe Pompliano. I highly recommend following him on social media and subscribing to his sports business newsletter; Huddle up. https://huddleup.substack.com/ )
You break it, you own it!
The slogan “you break it, you own it” is Nike’s marketing for Caitlin breaking the NCAA record. Nike has a billboard up right outside of Madison Square Garden in New York City. It’s pretty dope!
Whenever Caitlin touches a basketball, she’s breaking records. Not only is she the all-time leading scorer for women’s college basketball, she’s only 18 points shy of breaking LSU’s Pete Maravich’s 3,667 points record to own the NCAA scoring record among both men and women. Caitlin averages more than 30 points per game. There is no doubt that Caitlin will pass Pete in her last regular-season home game against No.2 Ohio State on Sunday at 1:00 on FOX. This game ticket starts at $557. It is the most expensive ticket in women’s basketball history (NCAA & WNBA).
Caitlin scored her 155th 3-pointer on Wednesday to break another NCAA record. She now owns the single-season 3-point record for both men and women’s college basketball. With 54 30-point games (17 this season), Caitlin owns the record for the most 30-point games by a D1 player. With 12 40-point games (four this season), Caitlin owns the record for the most 40-point games by any D1 player. She also has 17 triple-doubles (six this season), Caitlin ranks second in D1 history behind Sabrina Ionescu who leads with 26.
Highlights
Caitlin Clark is a human highlight reel. This image shows every shot she made to break the NCAA women’s scoring record. Of course, in Caitlin fashion, she broke the NCAA record hitting a three from the logo (Mom and Beka that’s means it was from 30ft, almost a half-court shot).
Added to her career highlights (so far), Caitlin has had her Iowa jersey #22 placed on Iowa’s court, is Fanatics’ top-selling NIL athlete, and is the reigning national player of the year and should easily repeat this year. 30 of her 32 games have been sold out. (The two games that were not sold out played during Thanksgiving at a neutral site in Florida.)
Another highlight; she is part of the most-watched women’s basketball game for six different networks. That’s six different games that ranked the highest viewed on ABC, the Big10 Network, FOX, FS1, and Peacock. I even paid for the Peacock app (and yes, I am the only person I know besides my parents who still pays for cable) just to watch her play. The sheer economic impact she has had on women’s basketball is reason enough to build her a statue.
WNBA Draft
Caitlin announced she will forgo her fifth year of eligibility and enter the WNBA draft. While the world of college basketball will lose out on capitalizing on Caitlin’s success, what else can she do at the college level besides win a National Championship? Caitlin has made everyone around her richer in more ways than one. Caitlin Clark will forever be remembered as one of the most important female athletes to elevate and impact the women’s game. The thousands of little girls that want to be just like Caitlin Clark is a testament to knowing the women’s game will continue to grow. Thank you, Caitlin!
As much as I would love for her to stay another year at Iowa, I’m excited for Caitlin to live her dreams and play in the WNBA. She is projected to be the #1 overall pick to the Indiana Fever (only an hour from Iowa City). No matter where she plays, I’ll be rooting for Caitlin Clark.
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1 Comment.
It is about time that the double standard between men and women’s sports is eliminated! You go girl! Congrats on this lifetime accomplishment!