By: Kaja Antic, Sports Writer
February 15: Caitlin Clark sets NCAA women’s all-time scoring record
Clark scored 49 points in the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 106–89 defeat of the Michigan Wolverines. She took less than three minutes to score the eight points needed to surpass Kelsey Plum’s previously-held record of 3,527 points. Clark’s records continued throughout February, as on the 28, she surpassed Lynette Woodward’s longstanding major-college women’s basketball points record of 3,649 — scoring her 3,650th point in Iowa’s 108–60 triumph over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. A day later, Clark announced her intention to enter the 2024 Women’s National Basketball Association draft, making this the last season in Iowa for the projected first-overall pick.
February 15: Canada wins golds, sets records at speed skating championship
The 2024 World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships in Calgary saw the Canadian men’s and women’s teams both take home their second consecutive gold medal. Canada’s men’s team also earned a world record in the process, their victory coming in at 1:17.173 seconds — determined with a photo-finish, showing the Canadians ahead of the Netherlands by 0.002 of a second.
February 16: PWHL “Battle on Bay Street” sets women’s hockey attendance record
The Profesional Women’s Hockey League’s sold-out game between Toronto and Montreal saw a crowd of 19,285 at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena — the usual home of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Toronto Raptors. Toronto shut out their eastern neighbours 3–0 in the record-setting game.
February 18: 2024 NBA All-Star Game highest scoring in history
The Eastern Conference team defeated the Western Conference team 211–186, with the East putting up the most points in All-Star Game history — beating 2016’s 196 marker set by the West. This high-scoring affair also set the record for most combined points in the NBA All-Star Game with 397, beating 2017’s combined 374 points.
February 19: Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild combine for 17 goals in one game
After starting the third period down 5–3, the Wild came back to defeat the Canucks 10–7 in the game’s final 20 minutes. The game featured three hattricks recorded amongst the Canucks’ J.T. Miller and Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov. All three of Kaprizov’s goals were scored in the third period.
February 25: New Zealand, Argentina victorious at 2024 Canada Sevens
The annual rugby sevens event at BC Place saw New Zealand, France, and Canada on the women’s podium with gold, silver, and bronze respectively. Canada’s team placed last in the men’s event, where Argentina won gold, New Zealand won silver, and France won bronze.
February 25: Rachel Homan prevents the retiring Jennifer Jones from getting the women’s curling record
Ontario’s skip Rachel Homan earned the Scotties Tournament of Hearts title seven years after her last title in 2017 to deny Manitoba’s skip Jennifer Jones from a recorder-setting seventh title. Before the national tournament, 49-year-old Jones announced that this, her 18th appearance, would be her last.
February 27: Canadian Hallie Clark becomes the youngest-ever skeleton world champion
19-year-old Hallie Clark won the gold medal at the Women’s Skeleton World Championships after quite literally crashing through the finish line. Clark later told CBC it was more “clock-efficient” to crash into the finish line as it was near the track’s final corner.
February 28: Canada remains undefeated in Gold Cup group stage
Even though the Canadian women’s national team is now without their longtime captain Christine Sinclair, the team has shown up strong for the inaugural women’s soccer tournament. The team has managed well so far, not conceding a goal in three matches in the tournament’s group stage. Canada defeated El Salvador 6–0, Costa Rica 3–0, and Paraguay 4–0 — the final match featuring a hattrick from forward Adriana Leon.
