Making history in women’s sports
Mya Fraser (She/Her) // Sports Editor
Liza Borissova (She/Her) // Illustrator
Caitlin Clark is a senior on the University of Iowa’s (the Hawkeyes) basketball team. She is Iowa’s all-time leading scorer and the first Division-I player to record 3,300+ points, 900+ assists, and 800+ rebounds in a career. She is expected to be a first-draft pick for the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association).
The 22-year-old American basketball player has been breaking records and sweeping awards her entire collegiate career, and even prior. In 2017, she represented the U.S. for the first time at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Women’s Americas Championship where she helped her team win gold. She played twice in the FIBA Under-19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2019 and 2021. She helped her team secure gold both times and even was named Most Valuable Player and made the All-Tournament Team in 2021.
While Clark is currently a senior, she still has one more year of eligibility left which she may choose to use. If she does declare for the 2023 WNBA draft at the end of her season (early March), it is likely the Indiana Fever will use their first overall pick on the rising star.
According to an interview on Jan. 2, 2024, with Clark, she still seemed undecided about her decision and didn’t let off any indications. “I’m gonna go based on my gut. At the end of the day, I think that’s the biggest thing that I should trust. I’m gonna know when I need to know if I wanna stay or if I wanna go.”
On Feb. 15, 2024, Clark officially surpassed the women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) career scoring record of 3,527 points, previously held by Kelsey Plum. The new record held by Clark is 3,569 career points and counting.
As of today, Feb. 16, 2024, Clark is only 98 points away from breaking Pete Maravich’s record in the NCAA men’s points. If Clark keeps up her average of 32.8 points a game for her final 4 games, she is on track to beat his record too on her final regular season game on Mar. 3, which would make her the all-time scoring leader in NCAA Division 1 basketball history.
Clark has earned herself quite the fan base already. Iowa achieved a historic milestone as the first women’s basketball program in Big Ten history to have every home game sold out. Ticket prices for the historic record-breaking night are up to $337, which is 206 per cent pricier than that same game in November 2023.
One fan of hers is quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Clark is a long-time fan of the recent Super Bowl winners, the Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes, now a three-time Super Bowl champion, recently spoke highly of Clark and her passion for the game. “She loves playing at Iowa and is going to be one of the best women’s basketball players, one of the best college basketball players to ever play, and then go to the WNBA and dominate there as well.” Clark even went on to compare her game to the way the Chiefs play. “I think it’s kind of similar to how I play, offensive power. It’s exciting.”
With only a handful of regular-season basketball games left, Clark is looking to soak it in and enjoy it for what it is. She and Iowa are looking to end this season on a high note by securing their first-ever women’s basketball national championship. Regardless of the outcome to come, Clark has broken barriers and will continue to have an inspiring impact in women’s basketball and sports history.