Iowa’s Caitlin Clark the latest female greatness to celebrate in Women’s History Month | Opinion
Caitlin Clark’s timing was perfect, as usual.
March is Women’s History Month, when we celebrate female accomplishments and contributions both historic and contemporary.
And Clark, the University of Iowa basketball star, now has marched into the sport’s history books by becoming the all-time career scoring leader — women or men — at the major college Division 1 level. She had surpassed the women’s record last month and Sunday bettered the overall mark of 3,667 points by “Pistol” Pete Maravich that had stood since 1970.
Clark, who has heard the nickname “Ponytail Pete,” now has scored 3,685 points. She could have grown that total by adding a fifth season of eligibility under the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver, but last week announced she would instead enter the April 15 WNBA Draft, where she all but certainly will be the overall No. 1 pick by Indiana.
“It’s really crazy to think about,” said Clark of her record. “Honestly, if you would have told me that before my college career started, I would’ve laughed in your face and been like, ‘No, you’re insane!’ The biggest thing is I’ve just had fun, and I’ve loved every single second.”
Clark still has the Big Ten Tournament and then the NCAA Tournament before she turns pro, still time to gift No. 6-ranked Iowa with the one prize missing from her resume’: a national championship.
In addition to the career points record, she will become the first college player ever to lead his or her major conference in scoring and assists four straight years. Her 88 made three-point shots from 25 feet out or longer this season shattered the previous women’s record of 51.
Women’s college hoops booms as a sport, and Clark has led the surge of interest, becoming a one-woman economic force who sells out arenas and sends after-market ticket prices skyrocketing.
A huge part of what has made her beloved to Iowa fans is that she is one of them, born and raised in West Des Moines, as Iowa as the corn fields and electing to stay and play at home.
A part of what has made her a national sensation, I believe, is that she is white in a sport that tends to be dominated by players of color in both the women’s and men’s games. To deny that would be to deny the racial temperature of this country, at a time when, for example, the University of Florida just disbanded its Diversity, Equality and Inclusion department.
I believe Caitlin Clark would be seen and celebrated differently, celebrated less, if she were Black.
That is not to say she has not richly earned all of the celebrating, but she also follows the footsteps of others such as former UConn and current WNBA star Maya Moore, Clark’s own childhood hero who attended Sunday’s game to watch her break Maravich’s record.
Kelsey Plum had held the women’s record Clark broke last month. Breanna Stewart won three straight National Player of the Year trophies and four national championships. Lynette Woodard, Brittney Griner, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi — there was a lot of past greatness, a lot of footsteps to guide Clark’s path.
But she has done it as well as anybody. The G.O.A.T. conversation now mandatory in every sort must include here even as she still seeks her first national title.
As we embark on Women’s History Month and celebrate the gender that literally gives life to humankind, it is incumbent to look above and beyond sports.
Being great at scoring a basketball must curtsy to the likes of the footsteps of Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart, Wilma Rudolph, Katherine Graham, Margaret Thatcher, Sandra day O’Connor, Oprah Winfrey and countless other female trailblazers.
To be a bit parochial and cheer the accomplishment of women, the “mother of Miami” herself was Julia Tuttle. The environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas and Athalie Range in politics were titans in this community. Kim Ng, with the Miami Marlins until recently, became the first female general manager in any major American pro sports league. The University of Miami was the first American college to award scholarships to female athletes in 1973.
Women you likely have never heard of have shaped lives and the future with notable inventions far and wide including space-rocket propulsion, the submarine telescope, science fiction, rock ‘n roll (thank you Sister Rosetta Tharpe), Wi-Fi, windshield wipers, Kevlar, aquariums, malaria treatment, computer programming, the circular saw, life rafts, fire escapes, the Monopoly board game, medical syringes, alphabet blocks, caller I.D., chemotherapy, chocolate chip cookies, disposable diapers, car heaters, laser cataract surgery and the software that allowed man to land on the moon.
Oh, and beer! (Special thanks for that one, women).
Caitlin Clark is but the latest female to earn a place in this majestic line of notable accomplishment.
The 6-foot guard has had 56 games of 30-plus points, 17 triple-doubles, 88 straight games with a three-point basket, and she is the first Division 1 woman ever to top 3,000 points and 1,000 assists for her career — indicative of a rare talent both dominant and generous.
I am grateful my own 6-year-old granddaughter can find so many heroes to choose from and so much limitless potential greatness to see when she looks in a mirror.
Happy Women’s History Month!
This story was originally published March 4, 2024 at 11:44 AM.
