COLUMN: Excitement surrounding collegiate, professional women's basketball is reaching new heights
Last week was a memorable one for the women's basketball landscape on both the collegiate and professional levels.
On Thursday, Iowa's star guard Caitlin Clark became the NCAA Women's Basketball's all-time scoring leader with a remarkable three-point shot from near the half-court logo against Michigan. Clark passed the great Kelsey Plum, who had scored 3,527 points in her time with Washington.
Clark is among the greatest faces in all of college basketball and has crowds packing the seats of almost every stadium she attends.
Over the weekend, all of the talk during the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend was centered around the NBA versus WNBA three-point contest between Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu. Both are heralded as the best three-point shooters of their respective leagues, and their shootout was the first ever featuring an NBA player against a WNBA player.
Curry ended up defeating Ionescu 29-26, but the latter's skills were showcased, silencing any doubters in the audience.
Curry and Ionescu's matchup was separate from the official three-point contest, which was won by Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard. But it was duly noted that Ionescu tied the champ's three-point score.
"Being able to have this crossover and understanding the respect that I've been able to receive from a lot of the NBA guys — just knowing that Steph wanted to do this as well, in terms of just respecting another shooter — I think it's going to show a lot of kids out there, a lot of people that might not have believed or even watched women's sports, that we're able to go out there and put on a show," Ionescu said following the contest.
Head coach Coquese Washington of the Rutgers women's basketball team talked about how great the past few days have been for women's basketball across the sports world.
"You don't want to be in a position, as women, where we're finally getting (recognition), but we've talked for so many years in women's sports about being relevant," Washington said. "And this week, you saw how women's sports has been so relevant."
Washington spoke about how players like Louisiana State University's Angel Reese and teams like undefeated No. 1 ranked University of South Carolina have increased the buzz around the sport.
"There have been more stars in women's basketball than there have been in men's basketball," Washington said.
Washington hopes that the enthusiasm around college women's basketball — like the hype built around last year's NCAA Tournament — will grow even more. She also believes that the Scarlet Knights will keep that legacy alive.
"We'll be a part of that in years to come when we have the types of players that are exciting … that we can help continue that relevancy of college women's basketball across the sports landscape and not just the women's sports landscape," Washington said.
It is evident that Clark and Ionescu are making waves across the basketball world. The pair's showcase of talent has created much-deserved excitement for women's basketball around the nation.
For more updates on the Rutgers women's basketball team, follow @TargumSports on X.
To view more of Josh Meyers' work, follow @JoshCMeyers on X.
