There’s no denying that Caitlin Clark is one of the greatest players in the history of women’s college basketball.
The Iowa Hawkeyes superstar has turned women’s basketball into must-watch TV with her electric back-to-back title game appearances and record-breaking career.
This year, Clark set the record for most 3-pointers in a single season for both men’s and women’s basketball, and became the all-time leading scorer in both men’s and women’s college basketball, breaking Lynette Woodard’s record for all-time leader in points in women’s college basketball along the way.
Or did she?
Woodard played for Kansas back in 1977-1981, at a time when the Jayhawks competed in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women instead of the NCAA, so her 3,649 points were never an official NCAA record. The official NCAA record was held by Kelsey Plum of Washington, who had 3,527 points.
But when Clark surpassed Woodard, the Hawkeyes and coach Lisa Bluder made it clear that Woodard held the “real record,” despite not being recognized by the NCAA.
And apparently Woodard still believes she holds the real record.
During a speech at the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association convention over the weekend, Woodard said she still doesn’t believe that her record has been broken, because she played college basketball at a time when the women used a men’s basketball and didn’t have a three-point line like they do now:
“My record was hidden from everyone for 43 years.
I’ll just go ahead and get the elephant out of the room: I don’t think my record has been broken because you can’t duplicate what you’re not duplicating. So unless you come with a men’s basketball and a two-point shot, hey…”
The comments drew an audible “ooh” from the crowd, and struck a different tone from Woodard’s complimentary message to Clark after she nabbed the record earlier this year:
And the Hawkeyes even invited Woodard (who played for their rival Jayhawks) to be honored on the court during a game.
So it’s a little strange to see Woodard taking a shot at Clark and her record now…but hey, if that’s how she feels…
