As Iowa State basketball star Caitlin Clark looks to add to college basketball history in the Hawkeyes’ final game of the season, women’s basketball legend Lynette Woodard tells the NCAA she wants to make even a little bit of women’s hoops history. He asks them to show “respect.”
Clark took the NCAA women’s basketball all-time scoring record from Kelsey Plumb earlier this month and currently has 3,617 points, but she hasn’t surpassed Woodard’s all-time scoring record of 3,649, which is not recognized by the NCAA.
That’s because Woodard, who played at Kansas from 1978 to 1981, competed in an era when women’s basketball was sanctioned by the Association for Women’s Athletics (AIAW), not the NCAA.
“The NCAA governing body has [AIAW] Players, please respect history. Include us and our accomplishments,” Woodard said during ESPN2’s Kansas vs. Kansas State broadcast on Sunday. “This is a time of diversity, equity, and inclusion. They should include us. We deserve it.”
The NCAA had an inconsistent policy in recognizing and disallowing records at the time, and Clark’s record season, especially as he trails Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record of 3,667 points, has put an even greater spotlight on the issue. There is. .
While Woodard isn’t mad about Clark’s historic season, the legendary women’s basketball player is using the opportunity to point out the issue.
“Caitlyn has had an amazing, sensational career. High tide floats all boats,” Woodard told The Washington Post. “There’s a lot of things she’s making people aware of, which I think is great. But I just hope that if the call letters change in the NCAA, her record might be in the mix. .”
Iowa State has two games left in the season, including Sunday’s home game, and the expectation is that Clark will surpass Woodard’s record and likely surpass Maravich’s as well.
Clark helped set a new record for the final game of the season, making it the most expensive women’s basketball game in WNBA and college history, Tickpick told CNN.
The most expensive seat costs $3,853.
