The stage is set for the coronation of Caitlin Clark as the all-time NCAA Division I scoring leader when sixth-ranked Iowa closes the regular season against No. 2 Ohio State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday.
Four days after she broke Lynette Woodard’s major college women’s record, Clark would pass Pete Maravich’s total of 3,617 points if she scores 18 against the Buckeyes.
Another full house will be on hand to celebrate Clark’s senior day. On Thursday, she announced she would enter the 2024 WNBA draft and skip the fifth year of eligibility available to athletes who competed during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever and the WNBA is already seeing a rise in ticket sales.
Logitix, which researches prices on ticket resale platforms, reported an average sale price of $598 for a ticket to this game purchased since Feb. 1.
Clark is all but assured of one or two more appearances at the arena after Sunday. Iowa is projected to be a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament, meaning it would be at home for the first two rounds.
Pearl Moore of Francis Marion owns the overall women’s record with 4,061 points from 1975-79 at the small-college level in the AIAW. Moore had 177 points at Anderson Junior College before enrolling at Francis Marion.
Clark is 411 behind Moore, and she has only three to 10 more games left in an Iowa uniform depending on how far the Hawkeyes advance in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
If Clark passes Maravich, the accomplishment will be subject to scrutiny.
Maravich’s all-time scoring mark is one of the more remarkable in sports history: It was set in just 83 games across three seasons from 1967 to 1970. There was no shot clock or 3-point line in those days. The 3-pointer line was adopted in 1986.
Maravich averaged 44.2 points per game. He scored more than 60 in a game four times, topping out at 69 against Alabama on Feb. 7, 1970.
Clark averages 28.3 points for her career and will be playing in her 130th game Sunday. Her career-best output was 49 points against Michigan on Feb. 15, when she passed Kelsey Plum as the NCAA women’s Division I career scoring leader.
Clark has 54 games with at least 30 points, most of any player in men’s or women’s college basketball over the last 25 years. She has six triple-doubles this season and 17 in her career.
With Clark the headliner, Iowa has helped sell out or break an attendance record in 30 of 32 games this season. The only two games that didn’t happen were at a Thanksgiving tournament in Florida.
“She is just a phenomenal, phenomenal player who has helped change the women’s game,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “She has helped bring an enormous amount of light and respect and viewers to the women’s game. She is awesome. She is a competitor.
“You either love her or you hate her, but you normally hate her because of how hard she competes. I have a tremendous amount of respect for somebody who is that competitive and has never met a shot she didn’t like.”
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AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Ann Arbor, Michigan, contributed to this report.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
