NCAA Women’s Basketball- Only three days removed from Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking triple-double against Louisville in the Elite 8, the junior was awarded the 2023 Naismith Player of the Year. The award goes to the most outstanding player in women’s basketball and it is hard to contest that Clark does not deserve the recognition.
A run through her season statistics would make anyone double-take. Clark ranks 3rd in scoring (27.3 points per game), 1st in assists (8.6 assists per game), and she works for rebounds (6.9 rebounds per game). She leads the nation with five triple-doubles and is 2nd all-time in career triple-doubles with 11. Other notable marks: MVP in the Big Ten Championship tournament, a unanimous AP All-American selection, 1st 40-point triple-double in NCAA Tournament history for men and women, and is the first to record over 900 points and 300 assists in a single season in Division I NCAA basketball history.
Clark is just 16 points away from scoring 1,000 on the season, which would make her the 6th player to do such a thing in Division I women’s basketball history. Standing in her way is a Final Four matchup with last year’s Naismith Player of the Year, Aliyah Boston, and undefeated South Carolina tomorrow at 8:30 pm.