Sports
Caitlin Clark's scoring record makes her historic. Her greatness makes her unmatched
IOWA CITY, Iowa — After the record had fallen but before the celebrations really kicked off, Caitlin Clark found herself on an island.
She had known the general plan for the night if she made history, if she became the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball.
Photos. A commemorative basketball. A quick interview for the fans in the arena.
But she didn’t know about the video. She wasn’t prepared for that.
With all eyes on her and five television cameras stationed just a few feet in front of her, Clark leaned up against the scorer’s table — the same spot where she has checked in and out of games hundreds of times over the past four years — and looked up at the big video board. She folded her arms and braced herself. She had promised herself she wouldn’t cry on this night.
But then her parents Brent and Anne appeared onscreen first with her golden retriever, Bella, and after, both of her brothers, Blake and Colin.
“A huge milestone, huge number,” Anne said. “But remember, it’s all the smiles, memories and so many special moments that are behind that number that are yours for a lifetime.”
Caitlin Clark postgame celebration video pic.twitter.com/3ddL9pVVaE
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) February 16, 2024
Brent was the first person to put a basketball in Clark’s hands. Her first coach. The person who wouldn’t allow her to shoot those long-range 3s as a little kid because she wasn’t strong enough … yet. He had her do form shooting over and over again. Torture at the time. A gift in hindsight.
Her mom is the one whose mind and memory most resemble Caitlin’s, they say. Her brothers are the two who, as kids, toughened her up, and now, have acted as confidants and best friends in her rise to the top of the sport. In what has been a whirlwind of a year, Clark’s family has been her refuge and her protection.
So, on a night that existed to honor Caitlin Clark the Player and everything she has accomplished in and for Iowa City over the last four seasons, this was the moment that finally felt too big. Her family, seated in real life 20 feet to her right, stared down at her from the big screen above the court and reflected back to her what this journey has meant.
From the scorer’s table, Clark pulled at the neck of her jersey, wiping her eyes and nose.
“There have been so many famous and cool people, and people I idolized growing up, that say a lot of really nice things about me, but when it’s people who have had your back through the ups and downs and been there every step of the journey — whether it was good or bad — and have seen the hard days, have seen the good days,” Clark said, “that’s when it means the most.”
Everyone knew the record would fall Thursday night against Michigan. Clark was only 8 points away, which for her is just a decent quarter of hoops. But even in warmups, her shot had a little extra juice. She was loose. In a good way. Yet, she felt the pressure. Also in a good way.
Iowa coach Lisa Bluder has seen this version of her senior star before. Clark doesn’t just love these moments; she exists best in these moments. It’s why Clark has all the game winners, the clutch shots, the big performances. It’s why Bluder and assistant Jan Jensen knew during the Big Ten tournament title game last season — when Clark put up a triple-double (30 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds) — that something special could happen in March, and maybe April. Clark was operating then in that alternative plane she can sometimes occupy. When she’s there, she can carry with her the rest of the Hawkeyes. That game spurred their NCAA Tournament run to the national championship game in Dallas, but it started with a historic performance from Clark in Minneapolis.
On Thursday night in Iowa’s home arena, with 8 points to go to set the scoring record, Clark was back on that plane.
She hit her first shot — a spin move to the baseline off the glass.
Six points to go.
She hit her second shot — a 3, coming right to left, off a perfect Gabbie Marshall screen.
Three points to go.
Then, in a moment that seemed almost too perfect, Clark had the ball in her hands, dribbling up the left side of the floor in transition. She has devastated opponents in this exact manner countless times before. On any scouting report of Clark, almost certainly, a section says in all caps: LOVES TO SHOOT TRANSITION 3S STEPPING TO HER LEFT. DO NOT LET HER TAKE A DRIBBLE TO HER LEFT. ANYWHERE IN TRANSITION IS WITHIN HER RANGE.
Clark crossed half court, took one dribble to her left and launched. She watched the ball hit the bottom of the net and then turned to the crowd and flexed.
The record was hers.
“You all knew I was going to shoot a logo 3 for the record,” Clark joked after the game. “C’mon.”
The arena erupted. Bluder didn’t call a timeout quickly enough, so Clark playfully lamented that her tired legs had to play some defense after that shot. But when Bluder finally called a timeout, Iowa just spent the huddle in silence allowing Clark to reflect.
Three shots. Three makes. And Caitlin Clark now stands atop the Division 1 scoring ranks. pic.twitter.com/mWi8hYlvvN
— Chantel Jennings (@ChantelJennings) February 16, 2024
Of course, the fans didn’t stay silent. They stayed on their feet and paid homage to the player who delivered the program its first national championship appearance, and now, a scoring record. This is why they had come, why most had shelled out hundreds of dollars to be in the arena for this night.
Because when Clark is in the arena, history can be made. And Thursday, it was. Clark scored a single-game program-record 49 points, recorded a career-best nine 3-pointers and led No. 4 Iowa to a 106-89 victory against Michigan. She now has 3,569 career points.
When the video ended, Clark met her teammates at half court. They sported custom Nike shirts that read: “You break it, you own it.” They passed around copies of a Des Moines Register (Clark’s hometown newspaper) with a full-page photo of Clark with a bold headline: “UNMATCHED.” They posed for a team photo, and they lost their minds when Clark began to dribble her commemorative ball. (What else would you expect Clark to do with a ball?)
Caitlin Clark signs autographs after beating Michigan in a record-setting performance. (Matthew Holst / Getty Images)
As the celebrations continued on the court, kids lined up along the benches and at the risers leading out of the arena. With posters and T-shirts in hand, they didn’t stay silent either. The shrieks of “Caitlin! Caitlin! Caitlin!” have become the postgame soundtrack for Iowa women’s hoops and, flanked by her two security guards, Clark makes her way through as many as she can after every game.
It was no different after she made history, after a video on the video board made her cry. As her impact and fame have grown, she has attempted to stay as accessible as possible, however that might look. She tries to sign as much as she can, take as many selfies as possible. To her, this is the most important part of her postgame routine. It feels all too recent, in some ways.
It was just more than a decade ago that Clark attended her first WNBA game. She was 11 or 12, and Brent drove her to Minneapolis to see a Lynx game. The franchise was in the middle of a run that included four titles in seven seasons, and the Lynx were the closest team to the Clarks’ West Des Moines home. For Caitlin, it was a chance to see Maya Moore play for the first time in person.
After the game, Lynx players held an event on the court. Clark, seeing an opening, ran out and hugged Moore. She didn’t have a pen or marker or anything for Moore to sign, but she wanted to be near her. Just wanted to be in the aura of Moore’s greatness.
“Ten seconds can go a long way in somebody’s life,” Clark said.
At 22, now one of the most prominent athletes in the nation, Clark still thinks about that moment.
Thursday night, fans paid hundreds (some, thousands) of dollars to enter Carver-Hawkeye Arena to watch Clark make history, just to be in the aura of Clark’s greatness. She wants them to remember that. But she also wants to remember the 10 seconds she might be able to have with them. She wants them to remember the joy she and her teammates have and the fire with which she plays.
When she signed her last autograph and jogged up the tunnel, Clark did so as the unmatched leader in women’s basketball, a player whose game has helped transform the game.
She was surrounded still by media and security, but Clark now has put herself on an entirely different island.
(Top photo of Caitlin Clark: Matthew Holst / Getty Images)
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ATLANTA — The FBI and Atlanta Police Department are getting ready for a massive security operation ahead of the World Cup semifinals between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium.
Both agencies have used drones to search for potential threats on the ground and in the sky. The FBI is enforcing the Federal Aviation Administration’s Temporary Flight Restrictions around the venue.
The FBI has confiscated more than 600 drones nationwide since the World Cup began. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office Marlo Graham said 86 of those drones were seized in Atlanta.
Graham said the FBI uses a “mechanism” that allows agents to see unauthorized drones in restricted airspace. Agents then work to mitigate the threat posed by unknown drones.
“We’ve been able to safely land drones that have been unauthorized in the flight restricted area,” Graham said.
The FBI has confiscated more than 600 drones at World Cup events since the tournament started. (FBI Atlanta)
While the FBI treats every drone as a potential threat, Graham said the threat level can increase depending on the size of the drone and how close it gets to the stadium.
“Obviously, the closer to the venue, the larger the crowd. We are fortunate here in Atlanta that we have a closed dome stadium,” Graham said. “We don’t want the game to be impacted because a hobbyist couldn’t control their drone, and it lands right when one of our star players was getting ready to score a goal.”
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The Atlanta Police Department’s Drone Unit has helped the FBI track down people suspected of flying in restricted zones.
Sgt. Kindu Franklin said most of the people caught flying drones around World Cup venues are hobbyists with no intent to harm the crowd of soccer fans below.
“In some cases, they just recently bought a drone just for FIFA to get some of the cool footage that they want to put up on their social media,” Franklin said. “There are different ways that you can weaponize these drones. So, we’re operating in a proactive manner.”
The Atlanta Police Department’s drone mission at the World Cup focuses on surveillance. (FOX)
The Atlanta Police Department’s drone mission is focused on surveillance. Officers are looking for potential threats, traffic issues and people the FBI suspects are flying drones illegally.
“So, what we want to do is give our command staff a view that they can’t get from the ground,” Sgt. James Cunningham with APD’s Drone Unit said.
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Cunningham’s unit can launch drones remotely from handheld controllers. Other drones are launched from docking stations strategically placed across the city, and officers control them from the back of an SUV using a computer and a PlayStation controller.
The Atlanta Police Department launches some drones from docks strategically placed across the city. They are controlled by a computer and a PlayStation controller. (Fox News)
The drone docks are used year-round to help the police get an aerial view of emergency situations before officers arrive. The computer shows the drone pilot where all the police body cameras and vehicles are in the area, allowing them to communicate better with officers on the ground.
For the World Cup, the drone docks let the department have more eyes in the sky and respond to emergencies faster.
“It’s going to cut down time. We’re going to get there quick. And then you’re going to get an aerial perspective of what you can’t see on the ground,” Cunningham said.
The Atlanta Police Department launches some drones from docks to get more eyes in the sky and respond to emergencies faster. (Fox News)
Cunningham said the drone unit has completed more than 1,400 flights and logged more than 550 flight hours since the beginning of June.
“Some people haven’t even done that in years or haven’t even reached those numbers in the life of their drone unit,” Cunningham said.
“We train for the environment. We live here, so we know what to expect,” Anais Paredes, an APD drone pilot, said.
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The FBI is asking that hobbyist drone pilots know the Temporary Flight Restrictions in their area before taking off.
There is a one-mile restriction around World Cup stadiums on non-match days, and a three-mile restriction on game day.
LAS VEGAS — From the time Austin Reaves joined the Lakers in 2021 as an undrafted prospect, his basketball life centered around playing with a savant in LeBron James.
That no longer will be the case.
Reaves re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $180-million deal, but James decided to move on as he prepares to play an unprecedented 24th season.
Reaves was stunned when he heard about James’ decision while playing golf in Lake Tahoe. Nearly two weeks later, Reaves says he still is trying to process the development.
“I kind of was thinking about it last night when I got here,” Reaves said Monday in his first news conference since re-signing. “Starting the season without him being on the team is going to be different for me. He’s kind of all I’ve ever known. Just him being around, joking around, acting like he’s 15. But that’s his decision and like I said in Tahoe, anytime I’ve talked about it, I got nothing but love and respect for him and yeah, let’s play some golf soon.”
The contract Reaves signed was the richest in NBA history for an undrafted player. At 28 and entering his sixth season, Reaves wanted to stay in L.A.
“I wanted to be a Laker the whole time. We had that period from when the season ended until the first [of July] to get something done and we figured it out before then,” he said. “My heart was in L.A. the whole time.”
Reaves will become one of the de facto leaders of the Lakers along with Luka Doncic. The two once again will be one of the most dynamic backcourts in the NBA.
“Obviously my relationship with the guys that were on the team last year,” Reaves said of why he wanted to stay. “And then Luka. I mean, he’s one of my best friends on this planet. Talk to him almost every single day. He sends me videos of his golf swing and asks me what he can do to get better and I tell him I’m not a coach.”
The Lakers have overhauled the roster: All the players who started alongside Reaves in the playoffs last spring are gone. With the signing of former Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams on Monday, the Lakers have eight new players, all of them arriving either via trades, free agency or the draft.
“They’re good,” Reaves said of the moves. “Obviously, I’ve been with the guys that are leaving for a couple years and with Bron for five years and I hate to see guys like that go. But the pieces that are coming in, I’m very excited about and I’m happy to get started today and see where it goes.”
Walker Kessler dunks during a game between the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers on March 23.
(Rob Gray / Associated Press)
One of those new players is Walker Kessler, a 7-foot-2 center the Lakers felt fit best around Doncic and Reaves because he’s a lob threat, rim-protector and good defender and is developing his three-point shooting.
The Lakers got him from the Utah Jazz in a trade and then signed him to a four-year, $130-million contract. The Lakers sent out two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033) and two first-round pick swaps (2028, 2030).
Kessler, who played only five games last season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, is aware the Lakers paid a big price to get him.
“It definitely makes you feel a certain way when you know an organization believes in you,” Kessler said Monday in his introduction. “And I think what they’ve invested, they’re showing that belief in a monetary value, not just with money, but like you said, assets. And for me, I’m somebody that if I know that they have that belief in me, I’m gonna run through a brick wall for them. That’s just how I’ve been wired my whole life and it definitely makes it a lot easier to go out there and compete for a team.”
Power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili could become a fan favorite, in part because of the tattoo he has on his lower left leg — a No. 24 in honor of Kobe Bryant.
Mamukelashvili, who signed a four-year, $52-million deal, averaged 11.2 points last season with the Toronto Raptors and shot 52.3% from the field, including 38.9% from three-point range.
“I got a Mamba Mentality tattoo. I just love his mindset,” Mamukelashvili said. “Growing up, I used to always say, “Mah-moo Mentality!’ So, I know it’s a little far from each other. But we are getting closer.”
When guard Collin Sexton, another new Laker, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, James left and signed with the Lakers. When Sexton signed a two-year, $19-million deal with the Lakers this month, James left again.
Sexton could only laugh about missing out on playing with James.
“He’s just leaving every time I arrive,” Sexton said, laughing. “That’s what it is. No, but one of the other coaches made the same joke yesterday. It’s cool, I know. I’ve always wanted to team up with him for sure, but it’s definitely cool knowing him and just having normal conversations and stuff, so that’s cool.”
Sexton averaged 15.4 points and shot 48.5% last season with Chicago and Charlotte. He’s ready for whatever role coach JJ Redick and the Lakers want for him.
“They believe in me,” he said. “And I just feel like at the end of the day, whenever a coach believes in you and like he said, he’s going to be hard on me and yelling and screaming at me. So, I like that. I think that’s what gets the best from me.”
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WWE will swing for the fences for the second straight year when it hosts one of its major premium live events of the year at a Major League Baseball ballpark.
The company announced on Monday that Survivor Series: WarGames will take place at Daikin Park in Houston – the home of the Astros – on Saturday, Nov. 28. It follows up the success of last year’s Survivor Series: WarGames event, which took place at Petco Park in San Diego – the home of the Padres.
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Roman Reigns lands a Superman Punch on Brock Lesnar during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 29, 2025. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
“Houston is the perfect host city to celebrate this milestone chapter in Survivor Series’ storied history, and we look forward to partnering with Houston First and the Houston Astros to deliver an unforgettable event,” WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque said in a news release.
WarGames is a highly anticipated match, which has taken place yearly among wrestlers on the WWE roster since 2022. The premium live event has also seen some dramatic returns.
Stephanie Vaquer enters the ring during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)
In 2023, CM Punk came back to WWE at the end of the show and shocked the entire sports world. Randy Orton also made his in-ring return during the match. Last year, a mystery attacker interrupted the WarGames match and gave the win to The Vision and company.
It’s unclear what is in the cards right now for the 40th edition of the event.
“We are proud to be able to help bring one of the world’s premier entertainment brands to Houston for what promises to be an unforgettable holiday weekend,” said Michael Heckman, President and CEO of Houston First, which partnered with WWE to bring the event back to Houston.
Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio celebrate their win during Survivor Series at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
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“Hosting WWE Survivor Series will bring thousands of passionate fans to our city and generate a significant economic impact for community. Houston has earned a reputation for delivering world-class entertainment events, and we look forward to welcoming the WWE Universe to our destination.”
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