Lynette Woodard says Kaitlyn Clark didn't break her own record, then retracts comments

Caitlin Clark's name is in all the basketball record books after she bested previous point leaders across multiple divisions on her way to becoming the all-time leading college hoops scorer, but Lynette Woodard – Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) top big school scorer with 3,649 total career points – She refuted the idea that Clark had broken Woodard's record while playing for Kansas from 1978-81 before Woodard later retracted her comments.

“My record was hidden from everyone for 43 years. “…I'm going to go ahead and get the elephant out of the room: I don't think my record has been broken because you can't repeat what you don't repeat,” Woodard said at the Women's Basketball Coaches Association conference in 2018. Cleveland on Saturday. “Unless you come with men's basketball and a two-point shot, you know.”

“You can help me spread the word,” Woodard added.

And on Sunday, after Clark and Iowa fell to South Carolina in the national championship game, Woodard issued a statement on social media, saying: “Caitlin holds the scoring record.”

“To clarify my statements I made at Saturday's awards ceremony, no one respects Caitlyn Clark's accomplishments more than I do. That is why I accepted Iowa's invitation to participate in Caitlyn's graduation day,” Woodard wrote in her statement Sunday. “My message was: A lot has changed,” Woodard wrote in her statement Sunday. On and off the field, making it difficult to compare statistical achievements from different eras. Each is a snapshot in time.

Woodard set the AIAW record before the three-point line was introduced. However, the NCAA does not recognize Woodard's record mark in its record books because she played before the NCAA accepted women's track and field in 1982. Beginning in the late 1960s and prior to 1982, female athletes participated in the NCAA Athletics Intercollegiate Women's Association (AIAW), a separate entity, has run championships in 19 different women's sports during its existence.

Clark scored her 3,650th career point in a game against Minnesota on February 28 to pass Woodard. After the game, Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder said she believed the AIAW record held by Woodard “was the real one,” and Clark called Woodard “one of the best records ever.”

At Kansas, Woodard was a four-time All-American and became the first woman to have her jersey retired. She is a member of both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Iowa State invited Woodard to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to celebrate her career on March 3. She was brought to the center court, and the fans gave her a standing ovation. Meeting Woodard when the Hawkeyes hosted her “was a real privilege,” Bluder said.

“She was my role model growing up, one of them. Unbelievable player. First female Harlem Globetrotter, a couple of Olympians. I mean she's special,” Bluder said. “And she's so agile. And to have the opportunity to have her come into the locker room and introduce her to the Hawkeyes was really meaningful.

Iowa stars Kansas star Lynette Woodard gets a standing ovation during first media timeout. Classy move from Iowa. Woodard earned the AIWA record label before women's basketball became part of the NCAA. pic.twitter.com/ugFAbAdstF

– Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) March 3, 2024

Clark went on to score her 3,668th point on March 3 to move past Pete Maravich for the most points in Division I history, men's or women's.

The Hawkeyes star played the final game of her collegiate career on Sunday before entering the WNBA draft.

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(Photo: Matthew Holst/Getty Images)