Hall of Famer Lynette Woodard doesn’t seem to be impressed by Caitlin Clark breaking the All-Time NCAA Scoring record. The University of Kansas alum recently spoke at the WBCA convention, where she downplayed Clark’s astounding record. During her playing years, from 1977 to 1981, Woodard set a 3649 points record in the erstwhile AIWA that was broken by Clark after 43 years. Woodard’s gripe emerges from her record being hidden for 43 years as the Iowa Hawkeyes guard gets celebrated by men and women hoopers alike.
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The 64-year-old considers herself a “hidden figure” because her name was only brought up recently in the mainstream media. During her hooping days, the Kansas guard played with a 29.5” ball like the men. At the same time, her game at the time didn’t have the three-point line. Therefore, Woodard believes that if Clark had broken the record without the three-point line and with a men’s basketball, only then she would have acknowledged her feat. The Iowa guard has notched more than half of her field goals from the deep.
“I don’t think my record has been broken because you can’t duplicate what you’re not duplicating. So unless you come with a men’s basketball and a two-point shot, you know,” Lynette Woodard told the crowd at the WBCA convention.
As she uttered these words, the audience broke into applause. At the same time, the 2002 Naismith Hall of Famer urged the crowd to “spread the word”. In summary, Woodard resents the fact that her career went largely unacknowledged as Caitlin Clark gets enormous love across the globe.
Lynette Woodard was the OG record-setter
The 6’0 guard had an illustrious AIWA career. She scored 3649 points in 139 games, registering 26.3 points per game on 52.5% shooting from the floor. At the same time, she stacked up an impressive 12.5 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game. Her best scoring season came during the 1978-79 window when she grabbed 1177 points in 38 games with a scoring average of 31 points per game on 56.2% shooting from the floor. However, these stats have gone unrecognized under the NCAA banner.
It is because, till 1982, women’s college hoops fell under the purview of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. NCAA took women’s college hoops under its banner in 1983. Therefore, her record didn’t carry over to NCAA record books. As Clark was eclipsing her record, Woodard had some strong words for the NCAA. NBC Sports’ Nathan Ackerman touched upon the University of Kansas guard’s AIWA records and her gripe for not including her records.
Lynette Woodard wanted the association to recognize AIWA’s accomplishments in the age of “diversity, equity, and inclusion“. While her plea is understandable, many haven’t taken kindly to her words toward Clark. Her critics believe she should give credit instead of downplaying the Hawkeyes guard’s huge milestones. Her scathing comments fuel the narrative of women’s hooping legends not giving Clark her proper dues.
