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Women's Basketball

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark breaks ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich’s NCAA Division I scoring record

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By Phil Helsel and Rebecca Cohen | NBC News

Clark on Feb. 15 became the leading career scorer for NCAA women when she passed Kelsey Plum’s 3,527 career points, set in 2017.

Two weeks after she broke the record for women, Caitlin Clark has become NCAA Division I basketball’s overall top scorer, period.

The Iowa Hawkeyes star went into Sunday’s game against the Ohio State Buckeyes needing 18 points to break “Pistol Pete” Maravich’s record of 3,667 career points, which stood for more than 50 years. And with a second-quarter free throw, she became the top-scoring player — man or woman — in NCAA basketball history.

By the time the final buzzer rang out in Sunday’s game — in which the Hawkeyes beat the Buckeyes 93-83 — Clark had scored 35 points.

Clark’s Sunday total sets the new NCAA scoring record at 3,685 points.

Following the free throw that broke the scoring record, Clark said the record wasn’t on her mind, “but then when they announced it and everybody screamed, that’s when I knew,” she said in an interview with Fox reporter Allison Williams.

Clark said in a postgame interview with Williams that her team “came out and dominated” against the Buckeyes.

“I’m just proud of our girls,” Clark said. “It was a fun, dominant win for us. I thought we played really well.”

Clark, in an interview during her Senior Night ceremony, said she is “very grateful” after starting her career at Iowa “playing in front of absolutely no one during COVID,” and “now it’s impossible to get a ticket to get in the door to our games.”

“I think the people that have made it the most special, obviously my teammates, my coaches,” Clark said. “But it isn’t what it is without all of you,” she continued, gesturing to the cheering crowds of fans.

“I mean that and I thank you,” Clark said. “This is special. I don’t know if you guys realize what you’re doing for women’s basketball and women’s sports in general, but you’re changing it. You’re helping us change it.”

“I’ve put on an Iowa jersey for four years,” Clark said, “but like Coach Bluder and Kate [Martin] said, there’s still so much more fun to have and we’re not done.”

Clark, 22, earned the women’s record Feb. 15 when she scored her first 8 points in a game against Michigan and passed Kelsey Plum’s 3,527 points in a career that ended in 2017. Clark went on that night to score a career-high 49 points.

NCAA women leading career scorer
Iowa Caitlin Clark listens as the crowd cheers after she broke the NCAA women’s all-time scoring record in Iowa City on Feb. 15.Matthew Holst / Getty Images file

“I’m just really grateful, honestly, to be able to be here and make so many of my dreams come true,” Clark said after the history-making game, which Iowa won, 106-89.

She put up 33 points against Minnesota on Wednesday to cement her place atop the all-time career points among women to play for major colleges. The record had been held by Kansas great Lynette Woodard, who scored 3,650 points. (Woodard played from 1977 to 1981, when women’s sports were governed by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.)

Clark and Woodard had a chance to catch up and celebrate following Sunday’s game.

“It’s just a great time for women’s basketball,” Woodard said in an interview with Fox’s Williams following Clark’s new record.

“Caitlin is leading the way. As she was chipping away I said, ‘Records are made to be broken, but also, they’re made to be honored,’” Woodard said. “And because of her, my records are being honored.”

Woodard continued: “I came to this game knowing she had 18 points to get. I had 19, but I have no more playing time. So, hopefully I passed her the baton for her to go ahead and burst through that ceiling, and I’m so happy for her.”

The overall record comes on Clark’s final regular-season game as a college athlete. Though the 22-year-old senior has another year of eligibility, she announced earlier this week that she would enter the WNBA draft next month.

“It probably won’t hit me until a little bit later, but I’m just gonna enjoy with my family and my teammates and I’m just really thankful to be in this place,” Clark said when asked what emotions she was feeling ahead of her “official goodbye” to Hawkeye Nation.

Her final season has been full of big moments and big numbers: She’s averaging 32 points per game, but at least four times this season she has racked up 40 points. The 6-foot guard from West Des Moines is also averaging more than 8 assists per game, and she recently recorded the 1,000th assist of her college career, making her only the sixth woman in college basketball history to do so.

With the scoring record in hand, Clark is now doubtless looking to lead her team, 25-4, to a national title. Last year, they made a run to the NCAA title game, where they lost to LSU.

Maravich’s NCAA men’s scoring record was 3,667 points, which he set playing for LSU from 1968 to 1970.

After college, Maravich went on to an NBA career in which he was a five-time All-Star. He played for the Atlanta Hawks and the then-New Orleans Jazz and for one season with the Boston Celtics.Maravich died in 1988 in Pasadena, California, at 40 years old.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA women’s hoops scoring record

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Michael Voepel, ESPN.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark had no specific plan for how she hoped to break the NCAA women’s basketball scoring record Thursday. But after doing so while also setting the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ single-game scoring record, Clark had to grin.

“You all knew I was going to shoot a logo 3 for the record,” said Clark, who now has 3,569 career points, 49 of them coming Thursday. And indeed, every aspect of the night seemed storybook perfect for the senior star.

Clark came into No. 4 Iowa’s game against Michigan with 3,520 points, needing eight to break the mark previously set by Washington‘s Kelsey Plum (3,527) from 2013 to 2017. Clark did it about as quickly as she possibly could.

She got the ball off the opening tip and drove in for a layup. Then she hit a deep 3-pointer from her favorite spot on the court, the left side. An even deeper 3-pointer from the same side — one of Clark’s signature shots from the logo — produced pandemonium from the packed house at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It took Clark just 2 minutes and 12 seconds to become the NCAA record holder. By the end of Iowa’s 106-89 victory over the Wolverines, she had also bested Megan Gustafson’s school record of 48.

“I don’t know if you can really script it any better,” Clark said. “Just to do it in this fashion, I’m very grateful. Very thankful to be surrounded by so many people that have been my foundation.”

EDITOR’S PICKS

This was Clark’s fourth career game scoring 45 points or more, and she had 13 assists. In total, she scored or assisted on 79 of Iowa’s 106 points (74.5%).

“It really is hard to stop Caitlin Clark,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.

“I think she does enjoy it,” she added of how Clark seems to shine the brightest in the biggest moments. “If you work that hard at your craft, don’t you want to share it with everybody? Don’t you want to express it?”

Both Clark and Bluder had said coming into the game that they didn’t anticipate a stoppage of play when the record came. However, Iowa took a timeout, and Clark’s teammates gathered with her in a joyous group hug on the court. Clark’s broad smile told the story of the night: the chase record she said never felt like a burden was now hers to celebrate.

She was far from done, though. Clark went 8-of-10 from the field — 5-of-7 from 3-point range — in the first quarter, scoring 23 points. It was the most points she has scored in any first quarter in her Iowa career, and the second most of any quarter. She had 25 in the fourth quarter of a loss to Michigan on Feb. 6, 2022.

From there, it was just a matter of how high she would go Thursday.

“Honestly, warming up, my shot just felt good,” Clark said. “So I knew it was going to be one of those nights, and I kind of played with a little bit more pep in my step. I knew that’s what this team needed coming off a loss.”

Clark had 31 points Sunday at Nebraska as the Hawkeyes were upset 82-79. But there was nothing the Wolverines could do to prevent Clark from taking over Thursday. Bluder praised Michigan, saying that as hard as the Wolverines battled in the game, they also gave Clark a gift and wrote congratulatory notes to her.

Not Done Yet

Iowa has four regular-season games remaining before an anticipated postseason run, giving Caitlin Clark more shots at history. She is:

• 81 points shy of passing Hall of Famer Lynette Woodard. Woodard (3,649) set the AIAW major-college record at Kansas from 1978 to 1981 before the NCAA began governing women’s athletics.

• 99 points shy of passing Hall of Famer Pete Maravich (3,667) for the most points in Division I history (men’s and women’s).

• 316 points shy of passing Hall of Famer Pearl Moore. Moore (3,884) set the overall AIAW record at Francis Marion from 1975 to 1979.

• 258 points shy of passing Kelsey Plum (1,109 in 2016-17) for the most points in a season in Division I history.

• On pace to be the first player in Division I history to lead the nation in scoring in three different seasons (already done in 2020-21 and 2021-22).

— ESPN Stats & Information

Clark could reach even more scoring milestones this season. The AIAW large-school women’s record — set just before the NCAA era by Kansas‘ Lynette Woodard from 1977 to 1981 — is 3,649 points. The NCAA men’s record is 3,667 by LSU‘s Pete Maravich from 1967 to 1970, before freshman eligibility in college basketball.

There also is a chance the AIAW overall record — 3,884 points, set by Francis Marion’s Pearl Moore from 1975 to 1979 — could be in play for Clark, depending on how far Iowa advances in the postseason. Clark is currently averaging 32.8 points for the 23-3 Hawkeyes, who have four regular-season games left.

Clark is already the first Division I women’s player to reach 3,000 points and 1,000 assists. But records and milestones are just part of her story. She is a generational talent who is growing her sport’s popularity.

“My favorite athletes are those who are champions in sports and champions in life, and Caitlin Clark is one of those athletes,” tennis champion and women’s sports advocate Billie Jean King told ESPN.

“She is the hottest star in basketball — all of basketball, and not just women’s basketball — and with that comes a heavy responsibility to be a leader on and off the court. She gets it, and that is part of the reason she will have an opportunity to be one of the best in her sport and a role model for future generations.”

There is a lot on the shoulders of the just-turned-22-year-old, but Clark looks as if she’s having the time of her life. She plays with the same passion, confidence and joyful flair she first brought to the court as a college freshman in 2020, when games were mostly played in near-empty arenas because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, the “Caitlin Clark Show” is one of the most sought-after tickets in sports. Fans of all ages call out her name and wear her No. 22 jersey. Parents drive their children hundreds of miles to watch Clark. Police escort her to and from the arena on game days, and on and off the court.

NCAA rule changes regarding name, image and likeness have allowed Clark to appear in national advertising campaigns. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes complimented her game while talking to media in the lead-up to the Super Bowl. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, widely considered the best shooter in NBA history, has praised Clark’s shooting form and poise.

“Caitlin’s special,” said Curry, one of the players — along with the WNBA’s Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Plum and Sabrina Ionescu — after whom Clark has modeled her game. “The record speaks for itself, and it’s cool. From a scoring perspective, from a shooting perspective, just doing what she’s doing — she could pick anybody that she talks about in terms of being an inspiration. If she models something of her game after me, I don’t take that for granted.”

ESPN analyst, 1995 UConn national champion and 1996 Olympian Rebecca Lobo said Clark and Curry have similar qualities that make them both successful and appeal to a wide range of fans.

“Caitlin is the whole package,” Lobo said. “She’s playing the game a way we haven’t seen before by a woman. We’ve not seen someone take that many shots from quite that distance and hit them at such [a high percentage].

“And she’s like Steph Curry — he’s charismatic and he’s not a physical giant. So every kid can visualize themselves as Caitlin Clark. It’s not like, ‘Well, to play like her I’d have to be 6-4 or 6-5.’ Caitlin is 6-0, but you actually don’t have to be that tall to try to do the things she does.”

The West Des Moines, Iowa, native opted to stay in her home state for college, leading Iowa to the past two Big Ten tournament titles and the 2023 women’s Final Four. Last season, she broke the record for scoring in an NCAA tournament (191 points), had the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA postseason history and led Iowa to an upset of undefeated No. 1 overall seed and defending champion South Carolina in the national semifinals.

Iowa fell to LSU in the championship game, which drew a record 9.9 million viewers on ABC. The 2023 NCAA tournament catapulted Clark to another level of popularity. That has continued to build since the Hawkeyes’ preseason game in October at Iowa’s football stadium, which drew 55,646 fans, a single-game attendance record for women’s basketball.

“You need superstars in sports,” Julie Foudy, an Olympic and Women’s World Cup soccer champion, told ESPN. “Mia [Hamm] was our superstar. She was shy and introverted. Caitlin seems more comfortable dealing with all the attention.

“But Mia then, as Caitlin does now, also recognized the significance and importance of her popularity. The value of it, not just individually but collectively, and how so many other women could benefit from her stardom.”

Clark could stay another season at Iowa, because of the COVID-19 waiver from 2020-21, or she could declare for the 2024 WNBA draft, where she is certain to be the No. 1 pick. Clark said she will wait to make that decision until after this season.

The Carver-Hawkeye crowd chanted, “One more year!” at the conclusion of Thursday’s game.

“I paid them,” Bluder joked. “I thought it was a pretty good chant.”

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For now, Clark is focused on trying to win Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships for Iowa, and making a return trip to the Final Four. And with every additional point she scores, she will add to her own NCAA record.

Clark said that what made her the most emotional after the game was the congratulatory messages that were played on the arena’s video screen from her coaches, teammates and family.

“They’ve seen me go through some really hard losses and some really great wins,” Clark said of her parents and two brothers. “They’ve been there pushing me to be my very best and allowing me to dream ever since I was a young girl. I didn’t plan on crying tonight, but it got me a little bit.

“I’m so thankful every single day, because I’m playing in front of 15,000 people. I get to do it with my best friends. I get to play the game that I absolutely love more than anything.”

Black Female Athletes You Should Be Watching

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Coco Gauff, A’ja Wilson, and Sha’Carri Richardson are some of the Black women in sports you should be keeping your eye on.

By: Noah A. McGee

The ladies are putting the sports world on notice. They’re here to stay.

With women’s sports continuing to grow it’s only right that we take note of some of the best Black female athletes who are dominating their sports. Coco Guaff just won the US Open, A’Ja Wilson just led the Las Vegas Aces to the best regular season ever and Sha’Carri Richardson just won the 100m at the world track and field championships.

The Black ladies in athletics are here to stay. Here are the ones you should be paying attention to:

Coco Gauff

The youngest lady on this list, Coco Gauff is only 19 years old and is already making waves in professional tennis. She recently won the US Open and has cemented herself as one of the faces of Women’s professional Tennis.

A’Ja Wilson

A’Ja Wilson has succeeded on every level of her basketball career. She was the number one ranked player coming out of high school. While at South Carolina, she was a national champion, NCAA tournament MOP, national player of the year, and a three-time first-team All-American. In 2018, she was drafted first overall in the WNBA draft and has since been named a WNBA champion, two-time MVP, a five-time all-star, a defensive player of the year, and rookie of the year.

This post-season, she’s hoping to lead the Las Vegas Aces to another WNBA championship.

Sha’Carri Richardson

Despite her controversial past, Sha’Carri Richardson has persevered to become one of the best track athletes in the world. A month ago, she the 100m at the world track and field championships in 10.65 seconds—a championship record time.

Jonquel Jones

Breanna Stewart may get all the attention as the best player on the New York Liberty, but Jonquel Jones is no slouch. She’s a four-time WNAB All-Star who won league MVP in 2021. She’s hoping to be apart of the reason the Liberty win a championship in 2023

Angel Reese

Angel Reese is among the most dominant players in the country and this past season was named a first-team All-America, the NCAA tournament most outstanding player (MOP), and an NCAA Champion. LSU legend Shaquille O’Neal named her the greatest athlete the university has ever produced. The only question left is, can Reese lead the Tigers to back-to-back titles?

Flau’jae Johnson

Angel’s teammate, Flau’jae Johnson is not just a talented hooper, she’s also a successful rapper. She went viral last year for a dope freestyle she had on Bars On I-95.

Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka has been a prodigy ever since she stepped on a professional tennis court. Despite being only 25 years old, she’s already won four majors, (two Australian Opens and two US Opens). Although she’s been on maternity leave for the past year, she’s ready to show that she’s still the best in the world.

Azzi Fudd

Azzi Fudd is a young college basketball player who just keeps getting better. Coming out of high school, she was the number one ranked player in the country and opted to go to the most storied women’s basketball program in the country, UCONN. During her freshman year, she helped lead her team to the 2022 Final Four. While the team didn’t make it that far in 2023, she’s hoping to lead a comeback this upcoming season.

Simone Biles

What can Simone Biles not do? She’s the most accomplished professional gymnast in the world. During the 2022 Olympics, she took a stand for athletes with mental health issues after she took a break during the games to focus on herself.

Aaliyah Boston

Following in A’Ja Wilson’s footsteps, Aaliyah Boston was also a star college athlete at the University of South Carolina. Currently, she’s the best player on a young Indiana Fever team and was recently named the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Elaine Thompson-Herah

Usain Bolt ain’t the only successful Jamaican sprinter. The fastest woman in the history of the Olympics, Elaine Thompson-Herah set the Olympic record in the Women’s 100 Meters during the Summer Olympics in 2021. She edged out Florence Griffith Joyner’s long-standing record of 10.62 with a time of 10.61.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Before Thompson-Herah set the Olympic record in the women’s 100 meters, fellow Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran the fastest time in nearly 33 years: 10.63 during an event in June 2021.

Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone

Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone is also a track and field star who is among the fastest in the world. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she won two gold medals, one in the 400-meter hurdles and another in the 4×400-meter relay. She also set the world record in the 400-meter hurdles in 2022, clocking a time of 50.68.

Candace Parker

Candace Parker is a basketball legend who’s been the best at every level of her career. As a rookie in the WNBA, she won the WNBA MVP and the Rookie of the Year award. In 2021, she cemented her status as a Hall of Famer after leading her hometown team, the Chicago Sky, to their first-ever WNBA championship.

Britney Griner

Thankfully, Britney Griner is back home after spending more than 100 days in a Russian prison during most of 2022. People may have forgotten, but Griner is still an imposing physical presence in the WNBA and had an awesome 2023 season despite the Phoenix Mercury struggling as a team. She’s a nine-time all-star and a WNBA champion.

Elana Meyers Taylor

I know some of us don’t pay attention to the Winter Olympics, but you might want to start, in order to watch bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor do her thing. During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Taylor became the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history after taking home her fifth medal.

Erin Jackson

Along with being a brilliant athlete, Erin Jackson also has a degree in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Florida. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the talented speed skater won gold in the 500 meter.

Claressa Shields

The ladies have hands too. Claressa Shields is one of the best Boxers out there. She won a gold medal at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics and is undefeated as a professional boxer.

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer makes history as NCAA’s winningest coach

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By: Yi-Jin Yu | GMA

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer is officially the winningest coach in NCAA history.

VanDerveer, 70, earned the record Sunday with Stanford’s win against Oregon State. The Stanford Cardinal beat the Beavers 65-56 in a home game at Maples Pavilion.

“Robin, it’s just a little bit surreal to be honest with you,” VanDerveer told “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts on Monday. “You just take each game one at a time and I’ve loved coaching.”

“And you know, this was a really tough game,” VanDerveer continued. “Oregon State’s a great team and we had some players really step up. [Forward] Kiki Iriafen had 36 points. It was an awesome game and I was just really happy for our fans that we could do it at home. It was a full house and it was a great celebration. It was really amazing.”

Following Stanford’s victory, VanDerveer said she was impressed Oregon State also celebrated her achievement.

“I just also want to say that when I went through the line with the Oregon State players, each one of them congratulated me and I just thought that was first class,” VanDerveer said. “It was just an outpouring of love from the fans and it’s a little bit overwhelming. It was just really an awesome day.”

Stanford’s latest triumph brings VanDerveer to 1,203 wins, passing former Duke men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski for the most wins. Krzyzewski said in a statement afterward that VanDerveer was a “true guardian” of basketball.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Tara VanDerveer, who is already one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of basketball. This is yet another milestone to add to an amazing legacy,” Krzyzewski said. “More important than all the astounding numbers and career accomplishments, she’s positively impacted countless lives as a coach and a mentor. Tara remains a true guardian of our sport.”

VanDeveer said hearing from other top sports leaders like Krzyzewski has been “really meaningful,” too.

Throughout her four-decade career, VanDerveer has made it to the NCAA tournament 37 times, led her team to three national championships and even coached the USA Basketball National Team to an Olympic gold medal in Atlanta in 1996. But she’s most pleased with the growth of Stanford’s women’s basketball program.

“I’m most proud of the improvement and just the life impact that Stanford basketball has on the women I coach,” VanDerveer said. “I learned so much from the players on our team and to be at Stanford, around such great coaches, a great university and have my assistants that helped me. Basketball is a team sport and obviously I wouldn’t have accomplished this without great assistance and great, great, great players.”

As a coach, VanDerveer said she ultimately wanted to help young players become the “best versions of themselves.”

“I want to take them to a place that they can’t get by themselves,” she said. “I learned this, I think, from my piano teacher, where I was trying to teach myself and that was hopeless but I was making CDs in a year with a great piano teacher and I just want to help our team and each player be the best they can be.”

Rutgers Women’s Basketball lands 2024 Five-Star G Kiyomi McMiller

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Alec Crouthamel • TheKnightReport

In the wake of facing off against star Caitlin Clark, the Rutgers women’s basketball team landed another star in the form of a verbal commitment from five-star guard Kiyomi McMiller, who joins signee Zachara Perkins in the team’s 2024 recruiting class.

McMiller, who is in her second season playing at the Life Center Academy in Burlington, New Jersey, chose the Scarlet Knights over the likes of Ole Miss, Florida State, and Temple.

The 5-foot-9 point guard is currently ranked 22nd in the country according to espnW’s recruiting rankings.

On the court, McMiller is at her best with the ball in her hands as a scoring guard. She has great speed with the ball and elite handles to get past defenders and find an open look, even drawing (lofty) comparisons to former NBA star Jamal Crawford with her ability to dribble in space with the ball. Appropriately nicknamed “The Product”, arguably McMiller’s best trait is her creativity on the court, with or without the ball.

“I’m inspired by both of my parents,” she told Business of College Sports. “I get my creativity from my dad and my grandmother, which carries over to my dribbling. I’m always in the gym with my mom and dad working on my game.”

She’ll join a stacked guard room with youth and experience mixed in at Rutgers, with contributors such as Kaylene Smikle, Mya Petticord, Lisa Thompson, and Jillian Huerter. Head coach Coquese Washington, formerly a guard herself in college and in the WNBA, is putting together a room of guards that can attack off the perimeter to either set up teammates or take it themselves for the score.

Similarly, off the court, McMiller has also become a trailblazer. Back in February, she became the first high school athlete to sign a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal with the iconic Jordan Brand. Bringing that brand recognition to Piscataway will put more eyes on the program, and Rutgers as a whole.

The Silver Spring, Maryland native grew up in a basketball family, as both of her parents coached at nearby Montgomery College. Her father, Mike, also joined on at Life Center Academy as an assistant coach.

“It’s a dream come true being with the brand that stands for the same passion that I have for the game,” she said. “I look forward to encouraging basketball players to use their creativity and platform to define their purpose.”

McMiller and Perkins currently make up the program’s 2024 class, but Washington and the staff may not be done yet. Fellow five-star guard Mikayla Blakes, ranked tenth in the class, also has Rutgers among her finalists. There’s plenty of familiarity with the program, as Blakes attends Rutgers Prep in Somerset, and current Scarlet Knight Antonia Bates played for the Argonauts out of Easton, Pennsylvania.

Both Blakes and McMiller were listed as two of the top scorers in the class by espnW, and adding both players would bring a lot of attention and hype to a Scarlet Knights program looking to get back on track in the Big Ten.

Rutgers women’s basketball lands a 5-star recruit in Kiyomi McMiller

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By Kristian Dyer via Rutgers Wire

Kiyomi McMiller committed to Rutgers women’s basketball on Saturday afternoon, giving the Scarlet Knights the highest-ranked recruit since head coach Coquese Washington took over the program.

A five-star guard, McMiller is ranked the No. 22 player in the nation by ESPNW. She is a part of the 2024 recruiting class.

McMiller plays for Life Center Academy (Burlington, New Jersey). Through 11 games this season, she is averaging 29.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Playing a strong schedule both nationally and in-state, Life Center is currently 5-7 on the season.

She is the second-highest-ranked recruit in the nation in the 2024 class behind five-star guard behind Mikayala Blakes. ESPNW ranks Blakes as the ninth-best recruit in the nation.

For Washington, this is a huge recruiting win for her and the program. Landing a top-tier in-state target who is ranked among the best players in the nation is certainly an important building block for the Scarlet Knights

Caitlin Clark Makes History With 3,000 Career Points

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MADISON WILLIAMS | Sports Illustrated

Caitlin Clark made college basketball history on Wednesday, scoring her 3,000th point. Now, the Iowa superstar sits in a class all by herself.

Iowa star Caitlin Clark needed just 22 points when entering Wednesday’s game vs. Iowa State to make NCAA Division I basketball history.

In the third quarter, Clark hit a three-pointer to score her 3,002nd point in her Iowa career.

The shot made her the first basketball player, either men’s or women’s, in NCAA Division I history to record 3,000 points along with at least 750 rebounds and 750 assists. She is the 15th player in NCAA history to hit at least 3,000 points.

It was fitting that Clark reached this historical mark in Ames, Iowa, which is just 41 miles from her home town of Des Moines.

Clark has never won at Iowa State in her career. But, since she was at an opposing arena, the crowd wasn’t as electric for her accomplishment than if she was at home.

Clark and the Hawkeyes played in front of a sold-out crowd at Hilton Coliseum. Iowa games tend to be sold out in every location the Hawkeyes play at, in part thanks to Clark’s popularity. The Hawkeyes even started their season with an exhibition game in Kinnick Stadium in front of over 55,000 fans.

Santiago 2023: Azurá Stevens brings 3×3 glory to Team USA

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By Maggie Hendricks| Olympics

Standing with her 3×3 teammates, Azurá Stevens has an ear-to-ear grin on her face. They had just won the Pan American Games 3×3 women’s tournament for Team USA, and Stevens had excelled in her first try at a different kind of basketball. Stevens’ smile is something fans have grown used to, as it shows even when her team is not winning gold medals.

Stevens’ positivity shows when she is on social media. Her X (formerly known as Twitter) feed is filled with kind and encouraging words. Her Instagram and TikTok often show Stevens doing the latest dance trend, along with her teammates. Even after a WNBA season where her Los Angeles Sparks finished just outside the playoffs, Stevens keeps up the good vibes.

“It’s difficult. Life and the game bring a lot of different challenges. I think just trying to stay grateful for everything, even when things don’t feel like they’re going my way, just staying really positive and being as grateful as I can for every experience, because it brings a learning opportunity and so that’s something that kind of helps me to keep it even. Even when things aren’t,” Stevens said to Olympics.com.

How her parents fuel Stevens

Part of where Stevens learns her lessons about gratitude is from her parents. In 2020, she started a food truck with her parents that serves southern food staples: shrimp, grits and fish. Though her father runs the business, she works on the truck whenever she is home in North Carolina. Stevens said her parents are her biggest inspiration.

“From a young age, they’ve sacrificed so much for me to be able to chase my dreams. They still support me so much,” Stevens said. “They’re a huge inspiration, an example that they set for me growing up and then all the sacrifices they made for me to be able to follow my dreams.”

A new kind of challenge

Her attitude has been helpful as she tried 3×3. Stevens has excelled at five on five basketball. She won a WNBA championship with the Chicago Sky and an NCAA title at UConn, and was a sought-after free agent before she signed with the Sparks in the 2023 offseason. But 3×3? It’s a completely different kind of challenge for the 6-foot-6 (198 cm) player.

“Obviously, you’re not doing full court, which has a lot quicker pace. And there’s a lot of reading and reacting and just sort of slowing down,” Stevens said. “I think that’s something that’s been a little bit of a challenge for me so far as it’s a little bit of a slower pace because it’s half court, you know, but then when you score, you’re right on defense. that point in that regard and continuing to get comfortable with it.”

Now with a 3×3 gold medal in hand, Stevens is considering whether she will play basketball in the offseason. She will return to the Sparks in 2024 for her seventh season in the WNBA, and perhaps, Paris 2024.

“I’d love that opportunity. I’m excited to be part of that pool, and see how it goes from there,” Stevens said.

Iowa draws 55,646 to set record for women’s basketball game

by

ESPN Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Lisa Bluder’s idea turned into history.

The Iowa coach came up with the plan for her team to play an outdoor game at Kinnick Stadium, with the hope of setting a women’s basketball single-game attendance record.

Iowa did that, and more.

The Hawkeyes’ 94-72 exhibition win over DePaul in the “Crossover at Kinnick” on Sunday drew 55,646 fans, almost doubling the previous record of 29,619 set by Connecticut and Oklahoma in the 2002 NCAA championship game at San Antonio’s Alamodome.

“You know, you can have an idea and it could fall flat if nobody shows up,” Bluder said. “But, man, Hawk fans showed up today. Fifty-five thousand, breaking the record, getting to play outside. … It was a dream. It really was. It was just fabulous.”

“Fifty-five thousand? That’s pretty incredible,” said Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, the reigning national player of the year, who put up a triple-double of 34 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. “It’s hard to kind of imagine yourself playing basketball in front of 55,000.”

Bluder’s idea for an outdoor game came to her when 9,000 fans showed up for a campus celebration in April upon the Hawkeyes’ return from the NCAA championship game against LSU.

Sunday’s game was played under partly cloudy skies, with temperatures in the 50s and a gusty wind swirling around the north end zone where the court was set up.

“Great weather,” Bluder said. “It was raining all week, and then great weather today? I’m so thankful.”

The wind played havoc with some of the shots. The Hawkeyes were 36-of-73 from the field but just 6-of 22 on 3-pointers and 16-of-30 on free throws.

Clark hit one of her familiar long-range 3-pointers early in the second quarter, but she also air-balled a free throw in the second half.

“It was a little windy,” Clark said. “The cold was perfectly fine. It was a bit chilly, and I’m glad we play an indoor sport. I promise I’ll never air-ball a free throw again. The wind took that one, for sure.”

The game was Iowa’s answer to August’s “Volleyball Day in Nebraska,” an outdoor doubleheader featuring the national power Nebraska Cornhuskers and three other in-state college teams that drew 92,003 to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln for the highest documented attendance ever for a women’s sporting event.

“I think this was amazing,” DePaul guard Michelle Sidor said. “Sixty thousand people coming out for women’s basketball was pretty special.”

Women’s and girls basketball has a long and rich history in Iowa. Girls played six-on-six high school basketball more than a century ago — three offensive players, three defensive players, only two dribbles and none allowed to cross half court. The girls’ basketball state tournament, first held in 1920, was a huge event televised statewide and in neighboring states until the five-player game took over in the 1980s.

Last year, the Hawkeyes ranked second nationally in attendance and Iowa State was seventh.

“We’ve had basketball here since the 1920s,” Bluder said, noting that associate head coach Jan Jensen’s grandmother is in the state girls high school hall of fame. “I mean, this is deeply rooted in this state. So it’s just perfect that it was here.”

Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke, who grew up in nearby Cedar Rapids, said, “Breaking the record in our home city, my home state, is really amazing. I think it’s just really cool being able to change the game and change people’s mindset on basketball.”

Players and coaches from both teams also participated with the crowd in “The Hawkeye Wave,” the tradition of fans at Kinnick waving to young patients and their families who are watching games through the windows at the adjacent Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

Proceeds from the game are being directed to the hospital. A check for $250,000 was presented during a break in the game. Among the attendees were former Iowa players Megan Gustafson, the 2019 national player of the year, and Kathleen Doyle, the 2020 Big Ten player of the year.

“Before the game, I just talked to them about this being a historic day for us,” Bluder said. “How we were playing for more than just ourselves. Playing for the university, fighting for the children’s hospital. We just talked about playing for everybody else and and not for ourselves.”

Bluder’s team has never been more popular in the state. The program is coming off its best season, Clark is the returning Associated Press player of the year and a show-woman with her deep 3-pointers. Every home game this season is sold out.

“It’s hard to really wrap your head around everything that’s happening,” Clark said. “Obviously, you can imagine it but it’s never the same until you’re actually in the experience enjoying it and loving it.”

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