By Alison Harner ‘24
On Sunday, Iowa State’s Caitlin Clark set an NCAA scoring record, becoming the highest college basketball scorer of both men’s and women’s teams.
On Thursday, Clark surpassed the previous women’s scoring record set by Lynette Woodward at 3,649 for Kansas from 1977-81, before the NCAA even recognized women’s basketball.
Clark entered the Sunday game only 17 points shy of previous record holder Pete Maravich’s career high of 3,667 points. After Clark took the record breaking shot, she showed no reaction, stating that she didn’t realize she had broken a record until it was announced over the loudspeaker.
According to NPR news, Caitlin Clark is not just breaking scoring records, but TV streaming and attendance records as well. University of Iowa’s women’s basketball revenue has grown to $3.8M since Clark gained popularity, with tickets to her record-breaking game selling for an average of $598. Notable attendees included Maya Moore and Travis Scott.
As Clark has risen to fame, many are asking questions about where she will play once her senior season ends. Though Clark announced her commitment to the WNBA draft for next season, many fans are encouraging her to join an NBA team, specifically the Detroit Pistons, instead.
No rules exist that ban women from joining an NBA team, and it was already done before in 1977 with Luisa Harris. With an average score of 28.3 points per game over her four-year college degree, many of Clark’s fans argue that she is already more skilled than many of her WNBA potential teammates.
Fans worry that Clark’s fame momentum will be lost if she joins the WNBA, but it is entirely possible that her draft might bring more appeal and attention to the WNBA, which is significantly less publicized than the NBA.
Sources:
Fuller, Jason. “Caitlin Clark — a ‘tsunami of Impact and Influence’ — Breaks the NCAA Scoring Record.” NPR, 16 Feb. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/02/15/1230701661/caitlin-clark-a-tsunami-of-impact-and-influence-breaks-the-ncaa-scoring-record?ft=nprml&f=1055.
Sharma, Srashti. “‘Welcome to the Pistons’: Fans Urge Caitlin Clark to Jump the Ship to NBA Shortly After 2024 WNBA Draft Commitment.” EssentiallySports, 1 Mar. 2024, www.essentiallysports.com/ncaa-college-basketball-news-welcome-to-the-pistons-fans-urge-caitlin-clark-to-jump-the-ship-to-nba-shortly-after-wnba-draft-commitment.
Bowman, Emma. “Caitlin Clark Passes Pete Maravich to Set the All-time NCAA Scoring Record.” NPR, 3 Mar. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235690580/caitlin-clark-iowa-ncaa-record-pete-maravich?scrlybrkr=5022ec46.