IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark has made her mark on women’s college basketball. Now, the University of Iowa is marking her record-breaking basket.
Clark broke the NCAA women’s basketball career scoring record on Feb. 15 against Michigan when she poured in a school-record 49 points against the Wolverines. That effort moved Clark, a senior, past University of Washington star Kelsey Plum’s total of 3,527 points.
To commemorate the feat, school officials on Sunday placed a decal on the court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena at the exact spot where Clark’s 3-point shot pushed her past Plum, KWWL-TV reported.
The decal features Clark’s name and her No. 22, positioned about 35 feet from the basket, according to the television station.
Made her mark. @CaitlinClark22 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/MqxXkSvPH5
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 25, 2024
“I didn’t really see (the decal) until I came out to warm up,” Clark told reporters after the game. “I knew, because Coach (Lisa) Bluder had told me about it. It’s cool. Honestly, it seems a bit further back than where I actually shot it from, but that’s where they claim I shot it from.
“It’s super special; that’s something I’ll always remember and a shot I’ll always remember. I’m thankful for this university and the athletic department that wanted to do that; they didn’t have to do that.”
Typically, Clark had another strong performance on the day she was honored.
Against Illinois, Clark scored 24 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and added 10 assists in a 101-85 victory for Iowa (24-4, 13-3 Big Ten). It was her fifth triple-double and 16th of her career, according to ESPN.
Clark now has scored 3,617 points, the cable sports outlet reported. She needs 33 more points to pass Kansas’ Lynette Woodard for the women’s major-college record. Woodard, who played before the women’s NCAA era from 1977 to 1981, scored 3,649 points and is the AIAW major-college record holder, according to ESPN.
Pearl Moore, who played at Francis Marion from 1975 to 1979, is the AIWA’s small school and overall record holder at 3,884.
HISTORY ‼️ Caitlin Clark is the new NCAA Women’s Basketball’s All-Time Leading Scorer. 🐐#CaitlinCoverage x @statefarm
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 16, 2024
💻: PeacockI pic.twitter.com/c2Kdej2gIR
Clark is 51 points from moving past LSU’s Pete Maravich, the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s record holder at 3,667, according to ESPN.
Maravich, Moore and Woodard all played before the 3-point line was allowed in college basketball, and Maravich played from 1967 to 1970, before freshmen were allowed to compete.
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