Turn Back the Clock: Feb. 8, 2003

Penn women's basketball player Jewel Clark surpasses 1,000 points in her playing career at Cornell

Feb. 8, 2003

In the history of the Penn women's basketball team, few women have had as illustrious a career as Jewel Clark.

On Feb. 8, 2003 the Quakers opened a set of back-to-back weekend games in Ithaca, N.Y., against a tough Cornell squad.

The game was tight throughout, with the Big Red giving Penn all it could handle. Cornell seized a lead late in the first-half, but only briefly. The Quakers responded to take a 25-22 lead with 4:26 remaining, and would not relinquish for the lead the rest of the game.

While the Quakers went on to win the game, 75-65, the highlight was certainly Clark's basket with 4:53 remaining in the first half.

The basket, which helped Clark clear the 1,000 point hurdle for her career, was one of many for the junior. She finished with 26 points and allowed the Quakers to even their Ivy League record.

Clark would end up adding 28 points in another victory the following night, this time against Columbia.

The pair of wins that weekend improved the team's record to 9-9 overall, and 3-2 in the Ivy League.

Against Cornell, Clark became the 15th woman in Penn basketball history to reach the 1,000 point mark. She finished her junior season at fifth all-time on the scoring list.

A dominant senior season brought Clark's final point total with the Quakers to 1,743, good for second-best all-time. She finished her career 643 points behind former teammate Diana Caramanico, who remains Penn's all-time leading scorer with 2,415 points.

Clark's 19.8 points per game led the Quakers to a 17-11 record, 11-3 in the Ivy League, and an NCAA tournament berth. It was Clark's second Ivy League crown in four seasons.

Jewel Clark was a three-time All-Ivy first-team selection, and was inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 2011. The women's team has not had a winning season since her graduation in 2004.