Rebecca Lobo contextualizes accomplishments of Caitlin Clark, her place in history
Caitlin Clark rewrote history earlier this week during Iowa‘s 106-89 win over Michigan, breaking Kelsey Plum’s all-time scoring record in Division I Women’s College Basketball.
While the Hawkeye star’s scoring totals are one of a kind, there’s another part of her game that stands out to former WNBA and UConn star Rebecca Lobo — her unselfishness.
“One thing we never see with Iowa games, is Caitlin Clark coming down and taking a deep three when she has someone open under the basket. She makes that pass,” Lobo said during halftime of South Carolina vs. Georgia. “You never see body language from her teammate when she takes a three of anybody like standing in the corner, ‘I’m open and you miss me.’ You never see teammates lower their shoulders in frustration because of the shot she takes.
“She makes everybody better she is the best scorer we have seen, probably in the history of the women’s game. The best, or I should say best offensive player we have seen.”
While fans only had to wait a few days for the record to be broken after coming up short against Nebraska, they didn’t have to wait long once the game against Michigan began. Of course, Clark surpassed Plum’s record the only way she knows how — with a 35-foot 3-point shot in the first quarter less than 10 seconds into the shot clock.
Multiple games remain for Iowa in the regular season, Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament for her to build on that number and set herself apart from the rest of the field.
To Lobo’s point, fans won’t remember the fact that Clark became of one six women’s college basketball players in history to surpass 1,000 career assists in Iowa’s loss against Nebraska on Feb. 11. Instead, that game will be remembered for Iowa’s overtime loss and that she came up eight points short of Plum’s record.
Still, with the scoring title behind her, Clark still hasn’t led Iowa to a national championship in her first three years with the program. Iowa came up just short against LSU in 2023’s national championship game, and previously hadn’t made it past the Sweet Sixteen during Clark’s tenure.
Unless she decides to return to Iowa next season, this is the last chance she has to bring Iowa its first national championship in program history.
The next time Clark will be in action will be on Thursday for a big-time road trip against No. 14 Indiana. Opening tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and will air exclusively on Peacock.