Who is Lynette Woodard? All we know about the "unofficial" second-highest scorer in women's D1 basketball history

Lynette Woodard gained traction online and has been trending in Google searches as of late. One of the reasons is due to Caitlin Clark surpassing Lynette Woodard in women's college basketball's all-time career scoring list, where the Kansas star was recently bumped to No. 2.

Woodard appeared live on ESPN2's live broadcast and had something to say when asked about Caitlin Clark.

“Hey, congratulations. Welcome to the party,” Woodard said this when asked what she would say to Clark once she broke her all-time scoring record.

The unofficial record set by Lynette Woodard stood for 43 years before Caitlin Clark challenged it, and later broke it. We'll take a deep dive into her historic career in the annals of women's college basketball.

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Who is Lynette Woodard?

Lynette Woodard was a college basketball star, playing for the University of Kansas from 1977 to 1981. She played during the time when women’s college basketball was governed by the AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women), which is why her career milestones in Kansas were marked ‘unofficial’ by the NCAA.

Another tidbit is that her total career points were accumulated before the three point line was included and implemented by the NCAA in 1986.

During her stint with the Jayhawks, the 6’0” female hooper from Wichita, Kansas was accepted to join the Olympics as part of the 1980 United States women’s basketball team. However, the U.S. team boycotted their games in Moscow, during qualifiers pre-Olympics she scored 4.5 points per game.

After her college career, she went to Europe, played in a silver-medal world cup U.S. women’s basketball team, and coached in Kansas. It took 4 years before she got another opportunity to join the Olympic team after the 1980 U.S. boycott.

Woodard eventually got her chance and didn’t disappoint, winning the 1984 Olympic gold medal for the United States, and leading the team as captain over South Korea.

Claiming a gold medal in the Olympics is a career achievement for any athlete, but for Lynette Woodard joining the Harlem Globetrotters was a dream of hers. Joining the beloved basketball club as the only female on the team.

Woodard's desire to be a Globetrotter was documented.

"“My concern was just to be a Globetrotter. The good Lord gives you all of your needs and some of your wants and desires.” - Woodard said to Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1986.

She toured the world with the team for two years, before playing in the WNBA from 1997-1998 for the Cleveland Rockers and Detroit Shock. Woodard averaged 5.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game when she in her late 30's (38-39).

Lynette Woodard's career accolades earned her a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the sport's highest honor.