IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa’s Caitlin Clark made NCAA history on Sunday, and she did it in front of a Minnesota basketball legend.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa’s Caitlin Clark made NCAA history on Sunday, and she did it in front of a Minnesota basketball legend.

According to the Hawkeyes’ X team account, former Minnesota Lynx forward Maya Moore surprised Clark during a pregame interview. Clark became NCAA Division I’s all-time leading scorer in No. 6 Iowa’s final regular-season game against No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

 

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – FEBRUARY 28: Iowa Hawkeyes player Caitlin Clark warms up before the start of their game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena on February 28, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Hawkeyes defeated the Golden Gophers 108-60. David Berding/Getty Images

Four days after breaking Lynette Woodard’s women’s record, Clark surpassed Pete Maravich’s total of 3,617 points with a free throw just before halftime.

Another sold-out crowd will be in attendance to celebrate Clark’s graduation day. She announced Thursday that she will enter the 2024 WNBA Draft and forgo five years of eligibility given to athletes who compete during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is projected to be the Indiana Fever’s No. 1 pick and is already seeing an increase in ticket sales in the WNBA. Logitix, which explores the price of the ticket resale platform, announced the average sales price of this game ticket purchased from February 1st. Clark is confident he will return to the arena once or twice after Sunday. Iowa State is projected to be the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play the first two rounds at home. Pearl Moore of Frances Marion holds the women’s overall record with 4,061 points at the AIAW small college level from 1975 to 1979. Francis Moore earned her 177 points at Anderson Junior College before she attended Marion College. Clark is trailing Moore by 411 points and has three to 10 games remaining in an Iowa State uniform, depending on how well the Hawkeyes do in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.

Clark outperformed Maravich, but this feat will be subject to careful analysis. Maravich’s record is one of the most remarkable in the history of the sport, set in just 83 games over three seasons from 1967 to 1970, when there was no shot clock or shot line. It was 3 points. The three-point line was adopted in 1986.

Maravich averaged 44.2 points per game. He scored 60 or more points in a game four times, his highest score being 69 points against Alabama on February 7, 1970. Clark has a career average of 28.3 points and will play in his 130th game Sunday. His career-high 49 points came against Michigan in February. At age 15, she passed Kelsey Plumb as the NCAA Division I women’s leading scorer.

Clark has scored 30 or more points in 54 games, more than any player in men’s or women’s college basketball over the past 25 years. She has six triple-doubles this season and 17 in her career.

Clark’s headlining has helped Iowa State sell out or set attendance records in 30 of 32 games this season. The only two games not played were during the Thanksgiving Tournament in Florida.

“She’s a phenomenal, phenomenal player who helped change the women’s game,” University of Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “She helped bring a lot of light, respect and spectators to women’s football. She’s amazing. She’s a competitor.

“You either love her or hate her, but you usually hate her because of her competitive nature. I have the utmost respect for people who are extremely competitive and have never encountered a shot they didn’t like. ”

Moore officially retired from the WNBA last year, but played her last game in 2018. She spent her entire career in Minnesota and ranks first in franchise history in points per game. She won four championships with the Lynx and was named one of the WNBA’s top 25 players of all time in 2021.

Ms. Moore put her own career on hold to assist in the release of the wrongly convicted Missourian Jonathan Irons, whom she later married.