Caitlin Clark of Iowa smashes the NCAA women’s basketball scoring record.
After scoring 3,569 points in his career—49 of which came on Thursday—Clark commented, “You all knew I was going to shoot a logo 3 for the record.” Indeed, everything about the evening seemed picture-perfect for the senior star.
Clark got 13 assists and scored 45 points or more in her fourth career game. She was involved in 79 (74.5%) of Iowa’s 106 points scored or assisted.Caitlin Clark is incredibly difficult to stop, according to Iowa coach Lisa Bluder.
She went on, “I think she does enjoy it,” mentioning how Clark always seems to be at his best at the most important times. “Don’t you want to share your craft with everyone if you put so much effort into it? Do you not want to say it?
Prior to the game, Bluder and Clark had both stated that they didn’t expect play to halt when the record was reached. But Iowa called a timeout, and Clark’s teammates flocked around her to embrace joyfully as a group on the court. Clark’s wide smile conveyed the evening’s events: the pursuit record, which she claimed never seemed like a burden, was now hers to enjoy.
But she was far from finished. After going 8 of 10 from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range, Clark scored 23 points in the first quarter. It was the second-highest point total of any quarter and the most points she has ever scored in an Iowa first quarter. In the fourth quarter of a February 6, 2022, defeat to Michigan, she scored 25 points.
It was simply a matter of how high she would go on Thursday from there.”Honestly, warming up, my shot just felt good,” Clark stated. “I played with a little bit more vigor because I knew it was going to be one of those nights. I was aware that this team needed that after suffering a setback.”
On Sunday, Clark scored 31 points against Nebraska, where the Hawkeyes lost 82-79. However, the Wolverines were powerless to stop Clark from seizing control on Thursday. Bluder applauded Michigan, noting that despite their fierce battle in the game, the Wolverines also sent congratulations and a gift to Clark.
This season, Clark might surpass even more scoring benchmarks. Lynette Woodard of Kansas set the AIAW large-school women’s record from 1977 to 1981, just before the NCAA era began. Her total was 3,649 points. Pete Maravich of LSU set the NCAA men’s record with 3,667 points between 1967 and 1970, prior to freshman eligibility in collegiate basketball.
If Iowa makes it far in the tournament, Clark might also be able to tie the AIAW overall record of 3,884 points, which was achieved by Francis Marion’s Pearl Moore from 1975 to 1979. With four games remaining in the regular season, Clark is presently leading the 23-3 Hawkeyes in scoring at 32.8 points per game.
As of right now, Clark is the first female Division I player to have 1,000 assists and 3,000 points. Records and achievements, however, only tell part of her tale. She is a multigenerational talent who is increasing interest in her sport.
Tennis champion and women’s sports advocate Billie Jean King told ESPN, “My favorite athletes are those who are champions in sports and champions in life, and Caitlin Clark is one of those athletes.”
She is the most attractive player in basketball overall, not just women’s basketball, and it comes with a big duty to lead both on and off the court. She understands, which contributes to her potential to rank among the top in her sport and serve as an inspiration to younger people.”
The recently turned 22-year-old has a lot on her plate, but Clark appears to be having the time of her life. She plays with the same fervor, assurance, and exuberance as she displayed when she made her court debut as a freshman in 2020, during a time when COVID-19 was causing most games to be played in nearly empty arenas.
These days, “Caitlin Clark Show” tickets are among the most in demand in the sports world. All ages of supporters wear her No. 22 jersey and yell her name. Parents take their kids on hundreds of miles-long drives to see Clark. On game days, she is escorted by police both onto and off the court and to and from the arena.
Clark is now able to participate in national advertising campaigns because to modifications to NCAA rules pertaining to name, image, and likeness. In a pre-Super Bowl interview with the media, quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs praised her play.Stephen Curry, the guard for the Golden State Warriors and generally regarded as the greatest shooter in NBA history, has complimented Clark’s shooting form and poise.
Curry was one of the athletes, along with WNBA players Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Plum, and Sabrina Ionescu, who Clark has taken her game model from. “Caitlin’s special,” remarked Curry. “It’s a fantastic record that speaks for itself. From a shooting and scoring standpoint, she could choose any person she mentions as an inspiration—just keeping up her current routine. I don’t take it for granted if she takes inspiration from me for any aspect of her game.”
Rebecca Lobo, an ESPN analyst, 1996 Olympian, and 1995 UConn national champion, claimed that Clark and Curry have traits that help them succeed and win over a broad audience.
Lobo declared, “Caitlin is the whole package.” “This is the first time we’ve seen a woman play the game in this manner. We have never witnessed someone hit so many targets at such a high percentage with so many shots taken from so far out.
“And she’s not physically enormous like Steph Curry, but he’s charismatic. Thus, all children can see themselves as Caitlin Clark. It’s not like, “Well, I’d have to be 6-4 or 6-5 to play like her.” Although Caitlin is six feet tall, it’s not necessary to be so tall to attempt to accomplish the things she accomplishes.”
The native of West Des Moines, Iowa, decided to continue her education there and helped her state win two Big Ten tournament crowns as well as the women’s Final Four in 2023. She had the first-ever 40-point triple-double in NCAA playoff history, broke the record for scoring in an NCAA tournament (191 points), and led Iowa to a national semifinal upset against the defending champion and No. 1 overall seed, South Carolina.
In the championship game, which attracted a record 9.9 million viewers on ABC, Iowa lost to LSU. Clark saw an unprecedented surge in popularity following the 2023 NCAA tournament. Since the Hawkeyes’ preseason game at Iowa’s football stadium in October, which set a record-breaking single-game attendance record for women’s basketball with 55,646 spectators, that has only grown.
Soccer player Julie Foudy, an Olympian and Women’s World Cup champion, told ESPN that “sports need superstars.” “Our star of the show was Mia Hammer. She was quiet and reserved. Caitlin appears to be more at ease handling the spotlight.
But Mia understood the value and significance of her fame back then, just as Caitlin does now. The significance of it, both personally and socially, and how her celebrity may help so many other women.”
Due to the COVID-19 waiver from 2020–21, Clark has the option to play one more season at Iowa or enter the 2024 WNBA draft, when she would almost certainly be selected first overall. Clark stated that she won’t decide on that until this season is over.
After Thursday’s game, the Carver-Hawkeye crowd chanted, “One more year!”Bluder chuckled, “I paid them.” “I thought it was a pretty good chant.”
Clark’s current priorities are returning to the Final Four and helping Iowa win Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. She will also set a new NCAA record with each extra point she scores.
The congratulations that her coaches, teammates, and family displayed on the arena’s video screen following the game, according to Clark, were what most moved her.
Regarding her parents and two brothers, Clark remarked, “They’ve seen me go through some really hard losses and some really great wins.” Since I was a little child, they have supported me, encouraging me to be the best version of myself and letting me pursue my dreams. Even though I wasn’t planning on sobbing tonight, it did kind of get to me.
“I’m grateful for my opportunity to perform in front of 15,000 people every single day. I get to go on this with my closest friends. I get to spend time playing the game that I adore the most. “Clark had 3,520 points going into No. 4 Iowa’s game versus Michigan; eight more were needed to surpass the record held by Kelsey Plum of Washington (3,527) from 2013 to 2017. Clark completed the task as fast as she could.
She drove in for a layup after she got the ball off the initial tip. Then, from her preferred position on the court—the left side—she nailed a deep 3-pointer. Pandemonium from the full house at Carver-Hawkeye Arena resulted from an even deeper 3-pointer from the same side, one of Clark’s hallmark shots from the logo.
Clark set the NCAA record in a mere two minutes and twelve seconds. In the process of Iowa defeating the Wolverines 106-89, she also surpassed Megan Gustafson’s school record of 48.
“I don’t know if you can really script it any better,” Clark replied. “Thank you very much for doing it this way. Being surrounded by so many people who have supported me greatly makes me very grateful.”