Meeting Her Idol Maya Moore on the Day of NCAA Glory, Caitlin Clark Recounts Her Childhood Incident

Caitlin Clark created history against the Ohio State Buckeyes. She surpassed NCAA legend Pete Maravich as the all-time leading scorer in men’s and women’s basketball combined. Clark dropped a game-high 35 points to reach the milestone. The match was played at her home gymnasium – the Carver Hawkeyes Arena, and featured thousands pouring in to support the 22-year-old including rapper Travis Scott, Baseball legend Nolan Ryan and WNBA icon, Maya Moore.

What caught the fancy of all fans was that Clark interacted with Moore and reminisced about her childhood when she once got an autograph from the first female athlete to sign with Air Jordan. Fans were delighted to witness the interaction between the past and present superstars.

What was Caitlin Clark and Maya Moore’s “full circle” moment?

Clark was overwhelmed upon meeting her idol and exclaimed in surprise, “Oh, my gosh! I feel like I’m fan girling so hard”. The Hawkeyes’ star recounted her meeting with Maya Moore as a child, “I still feel I was this tall and freaking out and I ran across the court and gave you a hug. I know, now I’m like taller than you.”

Meanwhile, the former Minnesota Lynx star divulged, “Oh, man! It’s a full circle moment. I remember being a 10-year-old Maya, going up hugging you know, Cynthia Cooper or one of the legends. Just to see that we’re still continuing to be able to be connected to be inspired by each other, to be… you know family right? I just love the connection.”

Clark has been a big Maya Moore fan ever since her childhood. The Iowa native was an exceptional baller and an avid fan of the WNBA. She used to travel to the Minnesota Lynx games which was the closest WNBA team to her home. Nonetheless, that too required around three and a half hours of travel, but never deterred Clark from going to the gymnasium and supporting her favorite hooper, Maya Moore. In fact it was this dedication to the game that has propelled Clark to such heights.

Caitlin Clark then also recollected an incident when she ran towards Moore as a kid and gave her a hug and also asked for an autograph in return. “I still tell everyone that story because it meant so much to me,” the 22-year-old revealed.

Read More: How Far Is Caitlin Clark From Becoming NCAA’s Queen?

Now that Clark has become the leading scorer, she too has traveled a full circle from being inspired to being the inspiration. It helped that she received support on the match day from all quarters.

What did Clark’s fans do to support her?

Meanwhile, fashion designer Kristin Juszczyk rolled out a specially customized Clark vest. It was black in color and had the Iowa Hawkeyes written over it. It also had Clark’s 22 number along with her name.

The jacket was worn by Jake from StateFarm who was also present at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena to cheer for the Des Moines-born.

Now that Caitlin Clark has reached another milestone, fans would be hoping for a successful run in the upcoming March Madness tournament and wishing that Clark does what she could not last season – winning the Championship title.

Read More: 2024 All-Star Game: Caitlin Clark Set to Embark on NCAA’s Last Dance Alongside Angel Reese