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Caitlin Clark grew up watching the most prolific scorers in Division I women’s college basketball and now her name is above them.
The Iowa superstar broke the all-time scoring record on Thursday. She surpassed former record holder Kelsey Plum, who scored 3,527 career points in 139 games in Washington from 2013-17.
“The best thing is the names I get to be with,” Clark, 22, said when he took over the No. 2 spot on the list on Jan. 31. “Those are people I grew up watching, especially Kelsey Plum, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Mitchell. “Those are really great players.”
Clark, a 6-foot senior point guard, eclipsed the all-time mark against Michigan in her 126th game. She needed just eight points Thursday and hit the record-breaking shot early in the first quarter against the Wolverines.
Clark stepped well beyond the 3-point line and fired a deep shot from the left side to knock down the all-time mark. It was his third bucket and eighth point of the day when he paused in a manner befitting the moment and his personality, dropping it from well beyond logo distance.
It’s worth seeing from multiple angles, so appreciate the greatness here too:
Clark wasn’t done breaking records there either. The Iowa star would surpass his own career-high of 46 late in the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer in the final minutes to finish with 49 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in a 106-89 victory.
The reigning Naismith and Wooden Award winner is averaging 32.1 points, seven rebounds and 8.3 assists per game. His 47.3 field goal percentage on an average of 22 attempts per game is a career-high, and he is shooting 39.3% on 3-pointers, close to his freshman career-high for most attempts per game.
He holds the men’s and women’s record for most games with at least 30 points (51) in the last 25 years and scored at least 40 on 11 occasions. Four of them were against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. She only once in her career scored in single digits, and it was at the beginning of her freshman season. Clark has at least 20 points in every game this season.
It’s not just the numbers he’s doing, but the way he’s doing it that has raised eyebrows. Its reach seems limitless in the way it can (and regularly does) tear away from the logo. Transition 3-pointers quickly end opponents’ hopes in close contests, whether early or in the final seconds. She’s also quick enough to outrun perimeter defenders and strong enough to shoot shots at the basket. And his elite court vision provides highlight-reel assists that few others could see, much less give.
National attention will remain. He is on pace to break the all-time men’s DI scoring record set by Pete Maravich in one month. And No. 2-ranked Iowa is a Final Four favorite that could win its first national championship in April.
Clark draws nation’s attention to record-chasing
National eyes focused on Clark’s pursuit of the record in December, when she became the 15th player in DI women’s history to score 3,000 points. She entered the season with a 2,717, a number boosted by her historic back-to-back 40-point performances on her way to the 2023 national championship.
Three of the five most-watched women’s basketball games this season involve Iowa. An average of 1.93 million watched last month’s overtime loss to Ohio State, which is the best for a game on any network since 2010, and 1.58 million watched the Maryland contest on February 3.
Iowa fans sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena subscription sale in August, and the Hawkeyes have played all but two of their road games to sold-out crowds.
Ticket sales for the potential record-breaking game in Nebraska began selling in the hundreds or thousands, similar to other road contests. Fans line up for hours before kickoff to enter arenas with Clark signs and gear, and wait hours afterward for autographs.
Clark, within reach of Maravich’s scoring record
Attention now turns to the overall DI collegiate record of 3,667 points scored by Pete Maravich. The LSU men’s basketball legend played three seasons from 1967 to 1970. There was no 3-point line, no shot clock and freshmen couldn’t play on the varsity team. Due to the marked difference in eras, Maravich’s son sees them as very different records.
Clark is averaging a career-best 32.1 points per game after starting the season averaging 27.2 points in a consistent three-year career. At his current pace, he would surpass Maravich in five games.
That would mean another potential record in the season finale at home against Ohio State on March 3. Clark scored 45 points in an overtime loss to the Buckeyes last month that sparked the best four-game scoring streak of his career. The matchup could determine the Big Ten regular-season title.
She could also surpass the DI women’s scoring average record for a season and a career. Patricia Hoskins of Mississippi Valley State averaged 33.6 points per game in 1989 and 28.4 points per game between 1985 and 1989. She played two seasons in which three-pointers were included in the statistics. Clark’s career average is 28.2 points per game as of Feb. 12 and her 38.1% mark from beyond the arc is just a few points shy of Mitchell’s career high of 38.6%.
Iowa is likely to make deep runs in both the Big Ten tournaments and the NCAA, where the Hawkeyes are projected as the top seed. Reaching each of those title games would extend the Hawkeyes’ season by nine games (three for the Big Ten, six for the NCAA).
Clark could also opt to stay for a fifth season under the COVID-19 eligibility waiver. If she opts to leave and enter the WNBA Draft, she would likely be the Indiana Fever’s first overall pick a week after they play in the NCAA championship in Cleveland.