Iowa phenom Caitlin Clark has made rewriting the record books a habit during her run with the Hawkeyes, but she ascended to new heights thanks to her performance Sunday against Ohio State.
Clark is now the leading scorer in Division I basketball history, passing LSU’s Pete Maravich with a pair of free throws during Iowa’s 93-83 win over the Buckeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
With the roar of the crowd still fresh in the minds of those who had watched the historic moment, Clark said she hopes she’s remembered for things other than her scoring prowess.
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“A record is a record. I don’t want it to be the reason people remember me,” she said. “I hope people remember me for the way I played with a smile on my face, my competitive fire. They can remember the wins, but also the fun me and my teammates had together.”
Clark said that she has been laser-focused on helping the Hawkeyes to a national championship, one year after they lost in the title game and fell just short of that prize.
“I’m so focused on helping this team win and be so great, it’s hard to wrap my head around everything going on. I’m trying to soak in the moment,” she said.
Last week, Clark had broken Lynette Woodard’s longstanding women’s college basketball scoring record, set before the NCAA participated in women’s athletics. Clark also broke Kelsey Plum’s NCAA women’s scoring record earlier this season.
Big Ten
Clark said that her accomplishments did not occur in a vacuum, and alluded to those other standout stars during her postgame press conference Sunday.
“People don’t understand how many players came before me and were able to score the ball at such a high rate and do it for teams that were really, really good,” she said.
The Hawkeyes earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament thanks to the victory. They will play on Friday at 5:30 p.m., with Wisconsin and Penn State playing on Thursday to determine which squad will face Iowa.