Caitlin Clark Scoring Record
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00:00 Can you just talk about setting a school record,
00:03 whatever, just to dispense any pressure?
00:08 Yeah, I mean, I don't know if you can really script it any better,
00:11 and I thought we played really well tonight
00:13 and that our defense could have been a little better.
00:15 But just to do it in this fashion, I'm very grateful.
00:18 I'm very thankful to be surrounded by so many people
00:20 that have kind of been my foundation
00:22 and everything that I've done since I was a young little girl.
00:25 And I started crying watching that video
00:28 just because I'm just filled with so much gratitude and love.
00:32 The way these fans support women's basketball is so special.
00:38 Yeah, I mean, you all knew I was going to shoot a logo three for the record.
00:41 Come on now.
00:43 Take us through the shot.
00:44 Just for coming up with more, you can pull up with a shot.
00:47 Just take us through.
00:48 Well, I thought about doing it a couple possessions earlier,
00:50 but I was a little tired, so I needed to catch my breath a little bit.
00:54 But yeah, I think I kind of stepped back to my left a little bit
00:56 and was able to get it off and went in and then celebrated.
01:00 And I honestly thought Coach Booder was going to call the timeout
01:02 before I had to go play defense, but she didn't, so I had to go play defense.
01:06 But honestly, like warming up, like my shot just felt good,
01:10 so I knew it was going to be kind of one of those nights
01:12 and kind of played with a little bit more pep in my step.
01:14 And I knew that's what this team needed after coming off of a loss.
01:19 And just lucky, like my teammates, I'm just so thankful.
01:23 They let me be me and I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for them.
01:26 So, yeah, I'm just really thankful.
01:29 Did you go into the game wanting to get it done quickly?
01:34 I mean, it was less than three minutes.
01:35 Honestly, like that was never really my goal to get it done really fast,
01:38 but I made my first couple shots, so I was able to get another one up pretty fast.
01:44 And it was nice to get it done there fairly quick so we could just kind of move on
01:48 and focus on winning the basketball game.
01:50 And I think you've got to give Michigan a lot of credit.
01:52 They played really well.
01:53 They made a lot of tough shots tonight.
01:55 And, you know, they didn't make it easy on us.
01:58 We switched up our defense a lot.
01:59 But what I'm most proud of is, you know, they played box and won
02:02 and we didn't freak out, we just did us.
02:04 What we've worked on all week, and we made some tough shots.
02:07 And, honestly, our lead grew when they went to the box and won.
02:10 And I think that just shows the area of growth that we took a stride in
02:14 and got better in, so I'm proud of our team.
02:17 And, you know, I still think there's a lot of things we can clean up on defense.
02:20 But other than that, not really.
02:22 Did you at least give Hannah a heads up that her record was going down today?
02:25 She said she passed the torch to me, so I was like, "Oh, Hannah, that's so kind of you."
02:29 But Hannah will break my record.
02:33 She better break my record playing here for another couple years.
02:36 And, yeah, Hannah's just hilarious.
02:40 She asked why I had to do that.
02:41 But I should have made a couple more layups, honestly.
02:45 So I think that just speaks to our culture
02:48 and the team Coach Bluter's built here is, you know,
02:50 you just want to see your teammates succeed.
02:52 And, you know, I was so happy for her the other night.
02:55 And, you know, I'm perfectly fine with Hannah going out and scoring 50 next game.
03:00 So hopefully she does that.
03:02 Kaitlin, you've garnered a ton of media attention.
03:04 I don't know how much of it you read or watch.
03:07 But I guess standing there watching the video
03:10 and having people say nice things about you,
03:12 like how did you process that?
03:14 Were you aware it was coming?
03:15 I was not aware it was coming.
03:17 And I think that's what kind of hits you, like when it hits you the most is like--
03:21 and, yeah, there's been so many famous and cool people
03:24 and people I idolized, you know, growing up
03:26 that say a lot of really nice things about me.
03:28 But when it's people that have had your back through the ups and downs
03:31 and been there every step of the journey, whether it was good or bad,
03:34 and have seen the hard days, have seen the good days,
03:38 and I think that's what it means the most.
03:40 My teammates, my--Mon and McKenna are in there,
03:43 the two people that I've given so much to this program.
03:46 Without those two, I don't know where I am.
03:48 And Kate and Gab and our coaches and obviously my parents,
03:52 like my two brothers, it just makes me pretty emotional.
03:55 And like I said, I think that hits a lot closer to home
03:58 just because they've seen me go through some really hard losses,
04:02 some really great wins, but also they've been there pushing me to be my very best
04:07 and allowing me to dream ever since I was a young girl
04:11 playing with all the boys growing up.
04:13 So it's just really special and I didn't plan on crying tonight,
04:18 but it got me a little bit.
04:20 Kaitlin, I'm going to follow up on that.
04:22 As a little girl, what would six-year-old Kaitlin Clark
04:27 think of you, 22-year-old Kaitlin Clark?
04:31 Oh man, that's a great question.
04:35 I think they would pinch myself to make me wake up from this dream.
04:42 Even when we go lose at Nebraska, I still wake up
04:45 and I'm so thankful every single day because, I don't know,
04:48 I'm playing in front of 15,000 people.
04:51 I get to do it with my best friends.
04:53 I get to play the game that I absolutely love more than anything.
04:56 And I know one day basketball is going to end, so one game, one win, one loss
05:00 never gets me too high or too low.
05:03 I think that's just been the story of my career,
05:05 and that's been something I've had to learn
05:07 is be able to stay steady and stay calm for this team.
05:11 I think I'm just thankful more than anything.
05:14 I think my six-year-old self would be proud of where I am,
05:19 maybe not be surprised, maybe be surprised at the magnitude that I'm on right now.
05:23 But also, I was the same competitive, fiery person that I am today,
05:28 so not much has ever really changed in that regard.
05:32 But I think I would just be proud and proud of the way I've worked for this
05:37 more than anything.
05:38 Nothing was ever given, and just work hard every single day
05:42 and try to make your dreams come true.
05:44 What would you say to her?
05:45 The focus of everything has kind of been on you the last few weeks especially,
05:50 but for a lot of the season, does it feel like this is kind of the perfect time
05:54 to now have to focus on Iowa and maybe the team as opposed to just constantly --
06:01 Absolutely, I would love that.
06:02 And I think, you know, obviously getting this record is tremendous
06:06 and has to be celebrated, and there's been so many people that come before me
06:09 and lay such a great foundation for women's basketball,
06:13 and that has to be celebrated too.
06:15 And I'm just very thankful for that.
06:17 But like you said, we're getting into the best part of basketball season.
06:21 These are the times where your team really shows who they are,
06:24 and I always believe Coach Bluter has us playing our best basketball
06:27 end of February, beginning of March, and end of March.
06:30 And I really think we are.
06:32 Obviously, you lose a game here and there, but that's what makes you learn,
06:35 and that's what makes you get better.
06:37 And absolutely, I think Iowa basketball is at such a high right now,
06:41 and it's so fun to watch, and people love supporting it.
06:44 And we have some fun home games left.
06:47 We've got to go on the road for two really great tests.
06:50 And I'm just trying to enjoy every single second because this team is special.
06:54 And even Kate and Gab and Molly, they've given so much to this program
06:57 that they need to be celebrated too.
06:59 And they don't always get the light to shine really bright on them,
07:02 and they should because I'm nowhere without those three.
07:05 And, yeah, I think that's really important.
07:08 And, you know, going forward, it's all Iowa basketball,
07:11 and that's what it should be.
07:13 Do you vividly remember the first game you played here,
07:15 and how did you get from there to here?
07:18 Yeah, I do.
07:19 You and I, there was like no one here.
07:22 I saw some clips of me playing the other day.
07:24 I was like, "Oh, man, I look a lot different.
07:26 My hair's a lot longer.
07:27 I'm very, very scrawny.
07:29 I have absolutely no muscle definition."
07:31 But a lot of my game is the exact same.
07:34 So that was funny to watch.
07:36 And it's crazy how fast time flies, and I think that's the biggest thing.
07:40 It feels like just yesterday I was playing that game with nobody in the stands
07:43 and having to wear a mask on the bench and only our parents here.
07:48 But it's just kind of cool to see the evolution of, you know,
07:51 what this has become.
07:53 And it takes time to build something like this.
07:55 And obviously Coach Bluter has built such a great program here.
07:57 But, you know, I feel like we've kind of taken it to another level.
08:00 The fandom has gone to another level.
08:02 And it's been cool to kind of watch that evolution since I've stepped on campus
08:06 as well.
08:07 How early into today's game did you really decide that you were going to go
08:11 for this record?
08:13 And was it just a feel thing or just a --
08:16 I think -- well, honestly, during warm-ups, like, my shot felt pretty good.
08:19 So, like, usually, like, as a shooter, like, you know,
08:21 like the ball just comes off your hand a little better some nights
08:23 other than others.
08:25 And, yeah, when you make a couple shots as a shooter, like,
08:28 it's like a green light just to get another one up.
08:30 And that's exactly what it was.
08:32 So I'm glad I made my first three and just kind of launched a second
08:35 and went forward and went in.
08:37 And, yeah, I guess the rest is history.
08:39 Are you normally an emotional person?
08:41 Not really.
08:42 I'm not that emotional.
08:43 So I'm just curious, like, what was the one thing that kind of made you cry?
08:46 Definitely my parents at the beginning.
08:47 That's definitely what got me.
08:49 And my brothers, for sure.
08:50 Thanks, Kaitlin.
08:51 Thanks, guys.
08:52 Thanks for coming.
08:53 Really appreciate it.
08:54 You know, excited about this night.
08:56 Just to be a part of it.
08:58 She's such a special player.
09:00 And you know something, the University of Iowa is the right place for this
09:04 to happen.
09:05 It absolutely is.
09:07 You know, this is a place that has supported basketball,
09:09 women's basketball for such a long time.
09:11 And anything can happen here.
09:14 I mean, we show it over and over again.
09:16 So Iowa's a special place.
09:19 Our marketing department, I thought, did an unbelievable job
09:23 celebrating this accomplishment.
09:25 I thought it was wonderful that she hits a logo three to put her over.
09:29 I intended to call a timeout, but it happened so fast I couldn't get it out.
09:33 But I also -- the crowd was amazing.
09:38 I mean, the crowd, the energy, the appreciation by our crowd.
09:42 There's nothing like Iowa Hawkeye fans.
09:45 And we know that, and we're thankful for that.
09:47 And I also want to say about Michigan.
09:51 Michigan came in here in a tough scenario, right?
09:54 I mean, they're playing in a tough situation.
09:56 I thought they played a great game.
09:58 I also want to tell you they gave Kaitlyn a gift after the game,
10:02 and every one of those players wrote her a note.
10:05 I am so glad that we have people in the Big Ten that understand the importance of
10:10 this and the importance for women's basketball, the importance for the Big Ten.
10:14 I just think Michigan, that was just a really classy way for them to handle this.
10:19 And I appreciate Kim and what she did.
10:23 Lisa, could you have drawn it up any better, a transition logo three?
10:27 Is that what you had in mind as kind of that storybook job?
10:30 It was perfect.
10:31 It was absolutely perfect for her to go over and reach this record with a logo three.
10:37 Hey, Lisa.
10:39 Yes, a lot's been made of the fact that Kelsey had 57 in the game
10:42 that she set the record five, six years ago.
10:46 I mean, she had 23 after the first quarter tonight.
10:49 I mean, was that something -- do you think that she had that in mind at all
10:52 because she's such a competitor?
10:54 I don't think she ever thought about it.
10:56 I've never heard her mention that.
10:58 I don't think so.
11:01 What do moments like this mean to your program?
11:04 You know, it's such great momentum, you know, for our program.
11:08 But, I mean, it's special because, again, you know, it's Iowa.
11:15 I mean, this is a great place for girls and women in sports.
11:19 And it just seems fitting that it should be here.
11:23 Lisa, that first quarter just felt sort of like one of the craziest things
11:27 I've ever seen.
11:28 But as a coach, Kaitlin has those moments, has those stretches.
11:32 How often do you allow yourself to just, like, appreciate her
11:36 rather than be like 100% critical, just watch a little bit?
11:39 You know, I usually don't.
11:41 But tonight, that's why I was determined to call that timeout
11:44 and just to let her enjoy it.
11:46 And we really didn't talk in the timeout.
11:49 We just kind of all sat in our thoughts.
11:53 And I just wanted her to have some space to think about what she'd accomplished
11:59 and just to enjoy the moment.
12:01 And usually that's not me.
12:03 I don't burn timeouts for anything.
12:05 Lisa, I mean, Kaitlin has every reason to be, you know, ego-driven
12:08 based on what she's accomplished.
12:10 But it seems like when the lights are brightest on her,
12:12 she tries to shine it on everybody else.
12:14 Can you just kind of speak to having that sort of,
12:16 not just caliber of a player, but caliber of a leader
12:18 that wants to just shine on more than her?
12:20 Well, she's won over 1,000 assists.
12:22 I mean, this is getting downplayed with her points
12:24 because her points are so magnificent.
12:26 But, I mean, her assists are incredible.
12:29 And, you know, that's what makes her such a special player.
12:31 But I'm telling you, every woman on that team loves her.
12:35 They are not jealous of her.
12:37 They know how hard she works for it, and they know, you know,
12:40 what she brings to our team.
12:41 So, I'm very thankful that I have a group of women that understand that.
12:45 We don't see Kaitlin get emotional all that often.
12:47 Was there any moment after the game or during the game
12:49 that made you emotional at all?
12:52 You know, when she hit it, definitely took a second to get back into reality.
12:59 It's pretty surreal at that point.
13:03 And then after the game, just to see how happy she is with her family.
13:08 You know, family means a lot to Kaitlin.
13:10 She's definitely family relationship first, which is wonderful.
13:14 Did you hear everybody holler, "One more year"?
13:17 I paid them.
13:19 [Laughter]
13:22 I thought it was a pretty good chance.
13:25 I asked Kaitlin this, so I was going to ask you a similar question.
13:27 What would you think as a younger kid yourself, if you could see this now,
13:32 what would you think of all of this as a younger kid looking back?
13:36 Yeah, there's no way, you know, I could imagine this.
13:39 I can remember sitting on my couch with my parents and my home in Marion
13:45 and watching Billie Jean King play Bobby Riggs and thinking,
13:49 "Wow, you know, we can really play sports.
13:51 We really have this chance," and watching the '72 Olympics and thinking,
13:54 "Wow, this is a possibility for women."
13:57 I'm going to have to say I was pretty excited last night Billie Jean King called
14:03 and expressed her excitement for our program and for this record,
14:09 and that was pretty special to me because she's always been an idol to me,
14:13 somebody that she wrote to me, as you would say, as she would say.
14:19 I couldn't imagine this.
14:21 There's no way.
14:22 There's just no way you can even fathom this as a little kid growing up
14:27 when I did in pre-Title IX.
14:30 It's unimaginable.
14:32 What does that say about where we are now,
14:35 as your program or women's basketball in general,
14:39 and what Kaitlin has done for that?
14:41 Yeah, I think Title IX had a big part to do with that.
14:43 I think it gave women an opportunity to compete,
14:45 and now we have women that were first those Title IX babies that are mothers
14:50 and grandmothers that understand the value of sport
14:53 and the lessons that can be learned from sport,
14:55 and they want to support it, and we didn't have that 20 years ago.
15:00 So I'm really thankful that we have this.
15:03 And again, at a school like Iowa that has been so really concerned about gender
15:10 equity since Dr. Grant was here and somebody that really did so much for gender
15:16 equity in Title IX and was impactful in that,
15:21 I'm just so thankful that it happened here at Iowa.
15:25 From a team standpoint, as glorious as it was tonight,
15:28 is there some relief now that you can move on with the season?
15:31 Yeah, there is a little bit, actually.
15:34 And I think you saw that in Kaitlin's play after she made the record too, right?
15:40 You know, it's been a little bit of a distraction, but a good distraction, right?
15:45 Like you want these kind of distractions for your team.
15:48 But at the same time, it's time now for us to really focus on making our team
15:52 better and getting ready for Indiana next week and the Big Ten tournament
15:57 and the NCAA tournament.
15:59 [Inaudible]
16:14 I think so.
16:16 You know, I'm very aware that Lynette Woodard has the record for women's
16:19 basketball of all time pre-NCAA, and that was before a three-point, you know,
16:26 shot.
16:28 So I'm very aware of that, and, you know, I'd love to see her get it.
16:32 Coach, knowing that the NCAA recognizes Tara Vandermeer's coaching victories,
16:36 shouldn't the NCAA recognize Lynette Woodard's scoring?
16:42 Well, I haven't thought about it, but that's probably a really valid point.
16:48 You know, I mean, we played basketball before the NCAA,
16:51 and so I don't know why we have this, you know, NCAA records.
16:55 But, you know, I think that makes really good sense.
17:00 There's been a heck of a calendar year for you in a lot of ways,
17:03 going to the final four, going to the championship game, playing at Kinnick
17:06 and having 56,000, and then tonight.
17:09 What's this been like for you?
17:11 I mean, I know at times you do stop and kind of pinch yourself, wow, this is real.
17:16 But is this just another one of that line, or is it better or the same?
17:21 It's been a journey, and I'm just so thankful.
17:23 I mean, I honestly am filled with gratitude that I get to be here,
17:30 that I get to be a part of basketball now, you know, versus 20, 25 years ago,
17:36 that I get to coach these great women.
17:38 I mean, it's been a great ride.
17:41 It's been amazing, and I'm so thankful.
17:44 What would Dr. Grant say?
17:46 That's the only thing, like, after, you know, the final four last year,
17:50 my biggest regret is that Dr. Grant wasn't there to see it.
17:54 I'm really sad that she's not here to witness this,
17:58 because she would have loved it.
18:00 I mean, she would have been so excited at the final four.
18:02 She would have been walking around like a peacock.
18:04 I mean, she just would have been so happy.
18:07 So I'm very thankful that, you know, she hired me 24 years ago,
18:12 but I keep a picture of her and I on my desk that she gave to me,
18:17 and I think about her often.
18:20 Do you remember the very first time you heard the name of Kate McClark,
18:23 this kid over in West Des Moines?
18:25 I think she was in seventh grade, but she might have been in sixth grade.
18:28 It was around that time, sixth or seventh grade.
18:32 You know, I don't think I saw her until she was in seventh grade.
18:35 You have the best scoring defense coming into this game
18:37 and one of the best three-point defenses.
18:39 How was your offense able to be so successful against that defense?
18:43 You know, I mean, we loved to run.
18:45 You know, we had 25 fast break points tonight.
18:48 That's pretty good.
18:52 You know, I think we were a force tonight.
18:53 Nobody was going to stop us, especially coming off the loss.
18:56 You know, it was really disheartening, and, you know,
18:58 having a full team tonight was good for us.
19:00 So, yeah, you know, it really is hard to stop Kaitlyn Clark.
19:07 You know, people try to bring different things at her, and it's really hard.
19:11 Kaitlyn mentioned that Michigan ran a box and won tonight.
19:14 You guys played well against it.
19:16 Just talk about the growth from the last game to now against that defense.
19:20 Yeah, I mean, you know, we weren't expecting it against Nebraska,
19:25 but it shocked me the way that we handled it, both the players and myself, definitely.
19:31 But today we were ready for it, and they had not shown a box and won
19:36 at least in the six games that we watched.
19:39 So, you know, it doesn't surprise us anymore
19:44 because people have to figure out something to do,
19:47 and that's kind of a logical thing.
19:49 And so we worked on it this week, and I think they handled it well.
19:53 Coach, what is it about Kaitlyn that allows her to be so comfortable in the spotlight?
19:57 Like the bigger the spotlight gets, ESPN, NBC, everyone's here.
20:01 She seems to handle it.
20:03 It's almost like she really enjoys it.
20:06 Like that's an exciting part of it for her as well, the spotlight.
20:10 I think she does enjoy it.
20:12 I think she--I mean, who doesn't?
20:14 Like if you work that hard at your craft, don't you want to share it with everybody?
20:18 Don't you want to express it?
20:20 Don't you want to show what you're capable of
20:22 and what you've put so much time and effort and work into?
20:26 So I think she absolutely enjoys it, and I want all my players to enjoy it.
20:31 I want them to love being out on that court
20:33 and play with that passion and that excitement all the time.
20:36 Kaitlyn has cameras following her around everywhere all the time.
20:41 What's something that you've seen, especially as she's been chasing this record,
20:44 that maybe the cameras haven't seen,
20:46 something that people really ought to know that they don't get?
20:50 Um, yeah, you know, today at the end of our shoot-around,
20:59 I really--I had our women go around a circle,
21:03 and every one of them say something they liked about Kaitlyn
21:05 that wasn't basketball-related, because to me,
21:09 everybody knows Kaitlyn as the basketball player.
21:12 There's so much more to Kaitlyn than that.
21:14 She's the kindest person.
21:16 She's thoughtful. She's generous.
21:18 She's funny.
21:20 And so that was really fun to hear her teammates
21:24 just express what she means to them as a person,
21:27 because sometimes we can forget that she is a person
21:30 and not just this unbelievable basketball player.
21:34 Thanks, Coach.
21:37 Thank you for being here, everybody.