There was no one like Caitlin Clark in college basketball.
Now she has the record to prove it.
Clark made a long 3-pointer in the first quarter of the Iowa-Michigan home game Thursday night, surpassing Kelsey Plum’s mark of 3,527 points to become NCAA women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer.
“It’s great to be in the same area as a lot of really, really good players,” she said on the Peacock broadcast during the first half, when the Hawkeyes led 53-41. She said, “I’m lucky to be able to do that because I have really good teammates, really good coaches, and a great support system surrounding me.”
Despite the commotion, Clark remained focused on the task at hand.
“We need to play better defense,” she said, adding that she had a few seconds to absorb it during a pause in play. “To be surrounded by people, to be in a city that supports women’s basketball so much, to be surrounded by my best friends and people who want to see me become great. And I’m just grateful for pushing me to be great every day.”
She scored all of Iowa’s first eight points in the first three minutes of the game and celebrated the accomplishment by hugging her teammates during the game stoppage.
Clark didn’t stop there, finishing the first quarter with 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting (5-of-7 from beyond the arc) and added four assists to give the Hawkeyes a 33-23 lead.
This is because her bold long-range shots reshaped the women’s basketball court, brought the “Logo 3” into the vernacular of the college game, and helped elevate her sport, setting record numbers for crowds and spectators. This is a stellar accomplishment for the senior guard who contributed. TV viewership.
The 22-year-old scored 31 points in Sunday’s come-from-behind loss to Nebraska, but was shut out in the fourth quarter and entered the game needing eight points to break the record.
“It wasn’t a distraction at all,” Clark said after the record-chasing game. “…When it happens, it happens. It actually doesn’t affect my life all that much. I’m just going to continue to run my business the way I’ve been going for the last four years. I’m going to point to my teammates and say, ‘I’m going to lead this team.’ I look forward to leading and achieving our goals.”
Clark, who is averaging 32.1 points per game entering Thursday, is on pace to finish just shy of 4,000 career points, depending on how far Iowa goes in the NCAA Tournament.
In the coming weeks, she could surpass Pete Maravich, who holds the Division I all-time record with 3,667 points.
The former LSU phenom set that record in just three seasons (he was ineligible as a freshman), but he never had the benefit of a 3-point shot.
If Clark returns next fall for his fifth collegiate season, also known as a “corona year” of additional eligibility, that scoring record could be out of reach.
However, she is expected to leave school to enter April’s WNBA Draft (in which the Indiana Fever holds the No. 1 overall pick).
Clark, 22, has steadily increased his points in each of the previous three seasons, starting the season 25th on the all-time points list.
Clark led the nation in points with 26.6 points per game as a freshman and led the nation with 27.0 points per game as a sophomore, but last season he ranked second in points with 27.8 points per game. He was the consensus National Player of the Year and led the Hawkeyes to a national title. game.
Plumb, who set the record from 2013 to 2017, is currently the star of the Las Vegas Aces, two-time WNBA champions.
Clark is also one of only three women in Division I history to surpass 1,000 career assists, tying current New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot’s record with 114 as of Thursday. I was making a difference.
