In a heartwarming tribute to Caitlin Clark's recent achievements, the Iowa women's basketball team celebrated its star guard's contribution to the team and college basketball in a unique way. The Hawkeyes unveiled a “22 Clark” decal on the Carver-Hawkeye Arena floor, marking the spot of her record-breaking deep 3-pointer against Michigan, when she broke the NCAA Divison 1 women's scoring record on Feb. 15.
Clark's humble reaction to the tribute was touching. Despite her achievements, including nearing Pete Maravich record for career points, her focus remains on the team's success and the collective effort needed going forward. The decal, marking the exact spot of her historic shot, serves as a reminder of her contributions, something she found “super special” and a testament to the university's appreciation of her talent.
“I didn't really see it until I came out to warm up,” Clark said of the decal, per Michael Voepel of ESPN. “I knew, because coach (Lisa) Bluder had told me about it. It's cool. Honestly, it seems a bit further back than where I actually shot it from, but that's where they claim I shot it from.
“It's super special; that's something I'll always remember and a shot I'll always remember. I'm thankful for this university and the athletic department that wanted to do that; they didn't have to do that.”
Clark now has 3,617 points just 33 points shy of overtaking Lynette Woodard's record for the most points in women's major college basketball. Woodard, who competed from 1977 to 1981 before the NCAA era, holds the AIAW record with 3,649 points. Additionally, Pearl Moore, who played at Francis Marion between 1975 and 1979, holds the AIWA record for both small schools and overall with 3,884 points.
Clark is also just 51 points away from surpassing the all-time NCAA Division I record for both men and women, set by LSU's Pete Maravich at 3,667 points. Maravich's career spanned from 1967 to 1970, a time before freshmen were eligible to play and before the introduction of the 3-point line, similar to Moore and Woodard's playing eras.
Caitlin Clark notches 16th triple-double in Hawkeyes' rout of Illinois
The game on Sunday against Illinois was a showcase of the Hawkeyes' strength that led to a 101-85 win, bouncing back from a recent loss to Indiana. Clark, not resting on her laurels, contributed 24 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, marking her fifth triple-double of the season and 16th overall.
The victory over Illinois improved the Hawkeyes' record to 24-4, including a 13-3 mark in the Big Ten, tying them for second place behind Ohio State's 15-1 conference record. This came after they made 17 3-pointers in their latest game. The issue of uneven scoring that impacted their performance in the previous loss to Indiana was addressed, with three Iowa starters, aside from Clark, scoring in double digits and the team benefiting from an additional 25 points contributed by their bench.
“We felt like we were really sped up on offense at Indiana,” Clark said. “We also just didn't make shots – we took a lot of good shots, but there were also a lot of things we could have done a lot better on the offensive end. Coming back here, you want to have a really good performance and feel really great about yourself going into the last week of regular-season play. I thought that's exactly what we did.”
Two games left in Hawkeyes' regular season
The Hawkeyes are set to play their final two regular-season matches, facing off against Minnesota on Wednesday and then hosting Ohio State at home the following Sunday.
“I'm really happy with the way we shot the ball from a variety of people,” Bluder said. “For us to be really successful, that's what we have to be. We want people to step up, because it makes Caitlin's (Clark) job easier.”
“That's what we're going to need going forward. It can't be one or two people. It's hard to play box-and-one, it's hard to play zone when we shoot the ball like this,” Clark added. “Hopefully, it was just a good learning experience for us at Indiana and showed us things we have to clean up. Their environment was great, so that could have sped us up, too. So just staying a little more calm.”
Follow Us
Subscribe