IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 3: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates after breaking ... [+]
Caitlin Clark is HER.
The Iowa star is now officially the all-time leading scorer in men’s or women’s major college basketball history after she passed “Pistol Pete” Maravich’s 54-year-old record on Sunday.
With a free throw in the first half on Sunday against No. 2 Ohio State, Iowa’s Clark broke Maravich’s mark of 3,667 career points, which he set in 83 games at LSU from 1967-70. Maravich was not allowed to play his freshman season due to NCAA rules, and also did not benefit from the 3-point line.
Clark, in her fourth season at Iowa, entered the game just 17 points shy of Maravich’s record and finished with 35 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in No. 6 Iowa’s 93-83 home win on Senior Day. The loss snapped a 15-game winning streak for Ohio State.
Clark now sits at 3,685 points.
“Hopefully somebody comes after me and breaks my records and I can be there supporting them,” Clark said. “That’s what makes the game of basketball so fun.”
Jaeson Maravich, Pete’s son, told MSNBC: “I think my dad would be extremely happy for her. I think he would love the way she plays.”
Clark told ESPN’s Holly Rowe on Wednesday when she broke Lynette Woodard’s women’s college record that when she was a little girl they called her “Ponytail Pete” and suggested she watch YouTube videos of Maravich, which she has.
“Records are made to be broken, I’m so happy for her,” Woodard said Sunday on FOX.
Her latest accomplishment brought praise from LeBron James and Billie Jean King, among others.
On Thursday, Clark announced her plans to enter this year’s WNBA Draft, where she is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick of the Indiana Fever in the April 15th draft in Brooklyn. She had the option of returning for one more season but wants to challenge herself in the WNBA.
Earlier this month, women’s basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes tried to diminish Clark’s accomplishments by saying Clark is not a true senior, shoots 40 times a game, and is 25 years old playing against teenagers.
None of that is true. Clark is in her fourth year of college basketball, shoots about 22 times per game and just turned 22.
Swoopes, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, has been roundly criticized for her comments, with some, including Dan Dakich, accusing her of making racist comments.
But Swoopes this week doubled down and said “black people can’t be racist.”
"For people to come at me and say that I made those comments [about Clark] because I’m a racist,” she said. “ … First of all, black people can’t be racist; but that’s the farthest thing from my mind."
"I grew up in a very small West Texas town — predominantly white. My best childhood friend is white. Went to a predominantly white college. Won a national championship [and] pretty much everyone on the team was white. We’re sisters to this day. That’s not a part of my DNA."
