Nike released a new commercial to celebrate Iowa Hawkeyes' Caitlin Clark breaking the NCAA Division I men's and women's scoring record during her side's 93- 83 win over Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday.
Clark surpasses the late Pete Maravich's record of 3,677 points, with the former Louisiana State University Tigers shooting guard having previously held that record for 54 years prior. The Iowa point guard came into Sunday's contest against Ohio needing just 18 points to break the record and stand on her own at the top.
The 22-year-old's big moment arrived during the last few seconds of the second quarter, where she nailed her first free-throw to tie the record, before scoring the second attempt to surpass Maravich.
Clark finished the game with 35 points, nine assists and six rebounds and now has 3,685 scoring points in her college career.
The latest achievement from the Iowa-born star follows her surpassing Kelsey Plum to break the NCAA Division women's scoring record last month in a win over Michigan Wolverines, thanks to a career-high 49-point performance.
Last Thursday, she then broke the major college women's record as her 33 points in a win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers took her past Lynette Woodward.
After Sunday's win over Ohio, Clark reacted to breaking Maravich's record, saying: "It's really crazy to think about. Honestly, if you would've told me that when my college career started, I would've laughed in your face, like 'No you're insane.'"
The point guard went on to say: "It probably won't hit me until a little bit later but I'm just going to enjoy it with my family and my teammates and just really thankful to be in this place."
Soon after Clark broke the record, one of her sponsors, Nike, released a video across its social media channels celebrating all the achievements of the Iowa star's college career. The long list of achievements read by the announcer in the commercial signalled the mass success which Clark had already experienced at such a young age.
In addition to the scoring records which Clark has recently broken, the commercial also mentioned her being: "A two-time All-American first team, three-time all-conference first team, three-time assist leader, two-time tournament most outstanding player (and) Conference player of the year."
The tribute by Nike ended with a caption, reading: "This was never a long shot. Just do it."
Stars of the sporting world had plenty to say about Clark's record-setting display over Ohio, including NBA superstar, LeBron James, who tweeted: "CONGRATS @CaitlinClark22 on becoming the All-Time leading scorer!!"
Tennis icon, Billie Jean King, tweeted: "She's done it! Congratulations to the indomitable @CaitlinClark22 who has smashed a 54-year-old record and has become the NCAA All-Time Leading Scorer! #WomenMakingHistory."
Clark is currently in her fourth and final year at Iowa, as last week she announced her plans to enter the 2024 WNBA draft. This means Sunday's game with Ohio was her final regular season game for Iowa as the postseason is set to begin soon.
The 22-year-old has one more year of college eligibility remaining, but she is instead going to be competing against the world's best female basketball players next season.
The draft is scheduled for 15th April in Brooklyn, New York, with the Indiana Fever widely expected to select Clark with the first pick.
Clark's heroics with Iowa in recent years have brought a growing audience to women's college basketball and have occurred during a period where women's sport continues to grow to greater heights. Her entry into the WNBA draft has already led to high ticketing demand for Indiana for next season.
The point guard's expected arrival in Indiana is a massive boost for the franchise as it had the second-worst average attendance in the WNBA last season with 4,067 fans being seated for its home games. This is despite its arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, having a capacity of 18,000.
Before Clark sets off to the WNBA, she will be looking to end her college career on a high note and hopefully lead Iowa to an NCAA Division I championship. The Hawkeyes lost last season's championship game to the Louisiana State University Tigers.
