Caitlin Clark entered Thursday night needing eight points to break the all-time NCAA women’s basketball scoring record. She needed only two minutes and 12 seconds to get there.
With a layup and a pair of threes early in Iowa’s home game against Michigan, Clark reached 3,528 points for her Hawkeye career, breaking the record for most points by an NCAA women’s basketball player previously held by Washington’s Kelsey Plum, who scored 3,527 points for the Huskies from 2013-17.
The record-breaking shot came on a 3-pointer from NBA range.
HISTORY Caitlin Clark is the new NCAA Womens Basketballs All-Time Leading Scorer. #CaitlinCoverage x @statefarm
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 16, 2024
: PeacockI pic.twitter.com/c2Kdej2gIR
That would be just the first record Clark broke on Thursday, as she also broke the Iowa school record for points in a single game with 49 total points en route to a 106-89 victory over the Wolverines. She scored 23 of those points in the first quarter alone, outscoring Michigan in the first quarter by herself.
Breaking history and a new career-high??
— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) February 16, 2024
There's nothing @CaitlinClark22 can't do.
: Peacock pic.twitter.com/rQUIzNYvPm
Clark broke Plum’s all-time scoring record – which was set across 139 games – in only 126 games. She has averaged more than 28 points per game across her four-year Iowa career and has now averaged 32.8 points per game this season.
She broke Plum’s record just four games after breaking the Big Ten’s all-time scoring record, which was previously held by Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 3,402 points for Ohio State from 2014-18.
Clark finished the game with 3,569, leaving her less than 100 points away from the all-time NCAA basketball scoring record for both genders held by Pete Maravich, who scored 3,667 points in just three years at LSU.
As she sets her sights on that record, she’ll also look to lead Iowa to a Big Ten title and another deep run in the NCAA Tournament after the Hawkeyes made the national championship game last year. The Hawkeyes are currently ranked fourth in the AP Top 25 with a 22-3 record this season, though they sit one game behind Ohio State in the Big Ten standings after losing to the Buckeyes in Columbus on Jan. 21 despite a 45-point game from Clark.
Ohio State will face Clark and the Hawkeyes again in Iowa City on March 3 (1 p.m., FOX) in the final game of the regular season for both teams.
