Pistol Pete’s Scoring Record Broken After 54 Years
Iowa City, Iowa - On senior night in Iowa, Caitlin Clark surpassed the legendary career scoring record of Pistol Pete. She just passed Kelsey Plum for most career points scored in women's NCAA when she scored a career-high 49 points in a win over Michigan. Clark scored 18 points in the first half, which happened to be the exact amount of points she needed to break the record. She knocked down two technical free throws with 0.3 seconds left on the clock to gain the record. The entire Iowa crowd went berserk and the stadium was rocking. Included in the crowd was former WNBA MVP Maya Moore, Clark’s childhood idol. It was a fitting moment for the homegrown superstar after she announced this would be her final season in college and would enter the WNBA draft.
Pistol Pete (Maraovich) is known for being one of the best, if not the best, college basketball players of all time. He played at LSU from 1967-1970 and averaged 44.2 points over a 83 career game stretch. He finished with the college basketball career record for most career points all time with 3,667. Considering he was not allowed to play on the varsity roster as a freshman, no three-point line, and dunking was prohibited, his scoring record is one of the most impressive feats in American sports. There are those who say Clark and Maraovich shouldn’t be compared because they played in different eras but there is no question this milestone doesn’t deserve to be acknowledged. Clark has now played 130 career games averaging 28.3 points per game.
The number six Hawkes came away with an extremely important win against the number two ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 93-83. Clark finished with a game-high 35 points, dished out nine assists, and grabbed six rebounds. It was a near triple-double on a record-breaking day for the Iowa guard. She now has 3,685 points, surpassing the great Pistol Pete. Clark will continue to add to her career points total as Iowa begins the postseason. The Hawkeyes have a bye into the Big Ten quarterfinals and will play their first game of the conference tourney on Friday. The Hawkeyes are hoping to cap off Clark's historic career with a National Championship. It is very much in the realm of possibility that Clark, one of the most prolific scorers in the history of basketball, will in the end set a record that might never be broken.
