Caitlin Clark broke Lynette Woodard’s scoring record on February 28, 2024 with her sixth triple-double of the women’s college basketball season. The latter was thrilled for the former at the time.
That is no longer the case!
Woodard does not believe that Clark’s record should count because the three-point shot exists and women today use a smaller ball. She made her opinion abundantly clear at the WBCA convention in Cleveland prior to the national championship game.
You could say that it was a joke or a clever quip, but it certainly didn’t sound like one! This is a complete 180 from how Woodard talked about Clark less than two months ago.
Just the excitement surrounding (the record), it’s so beautiful for me. I think records are made to be broken. One day, it’s going to happen again. I’m glad to be a part of it […]
(She) is drawing in so many different people from different walks of life. Not just the sporting world, not just the fans, but I guarantee you every household out her knows Caitlin Clark’s name […]
I stepped outside of my door (and) I had to smile. There was a young girl across the street – little bitty thing, dribbling with two hands, just bent over the ball. To see her with the basketball in her hand – those are the seeds that are being planted right now and it’s a beautiful thing.
— Lynette Woodard on March 1
Two days after making those comments, the Hall of Famer was in attendance as Clark broke Pete Maravich’s record to become the all-time leading scorer regardless of gender. Iowa went out of its way to make sure that Woodard was there and she was all smiles.
Her tune has clearly changed…
Woodard averaged 29 points per game with the Jayhawks and scored 3,649 points in total during her four-year career. That record was not considered to be official because the NCAA does not recognize statistics from the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women era.
However, she was the all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball history— until last month.
Clark had nothing but kind things to say after passing Woodard.
Woodard also had nothing but kind things to say prior to her speech at the convention.
There is no clear reason for why the pendulum swung in the other direction. Woodard was so complimentary of Clark’s new record and then she wasn’t. For seemingly no reason.
It is not Clark’s fault that the three-point line exists. It is not her fault that the women play with a smaller ball in the modern era.
All she does is score. Everything else is out of her control.
Caitlin Clark broke Lynette Woodard’s record whether Woodard accepts it or not!