Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder Slams NCAA After Caitlin Clark Breaks 'Real' Scoring Record
It's officially official, Caitlin Clark is now the all-time leading scorer in women's college basketball history.
While Clark's surpassing of Kelsey Plum on the all-time scoring list earlier this month was a historic milestone, another record held by Lynette Woodard was secretly looming, and the Iowa star broke that benchmark on Wednesday night with her monster game against Minnesota.
Woodard's record of 3,649 points wasn't recognized or even known by most given that she played for the Kansas Jayhawks during the AIAW era before the NCAA began sanctioning women's hoops.
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder clearly found it ridiculous that Woodard's record wasn't recognized by the NCAA and called out the organization following Clark's record-setting night.
"Tonight is the night of the real record," Bluder said after the game. "For some reason, the NCAA does not want to recognize the basketball that was played prior to 1982, and that’s wrong. We played basketball back then. They just don’t want to recognize it, and that hurts the rest of us who were playing at that time. There’s no reason why that should not be the true record."
READ: Caitlin Clark Mirrors Pistol Pete Maravich In More Ways Than One
Bluder went on to remind everyone that Woodard played in an era when the women's game didn't have a three-point line either, which makes her points record that much more impressive.
"Maybe the NCAA will realize that now. Maybe it will be brought to their attention, and they will start recognizing those women who played in the ’70s," Bluder continued. "Remember, they played with a larger basketball and no three-point line either."
Clark scored 33 points in the Hawkeyes' 108-60 win over Minnesota en route to surpassing Woodard, whom she recognized during her postgame press conference as well.
"I’m just really thankful and grateful to have those players who have come before me. Yeah, it’s super special. Obviously, she’s one of the best all-time," she said. "It just still shows the room that we have to improve, and where women’s sports is going is a really great place.
The next record Clark is set to break is the all-time scoring record in NCAA men's and women's basketball, held by LSU legend Peter Maravich. She sits just 17 points behind Pistol Pete ahead of Iowa's regular-season finale against No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday afternoon on FOX.