Caitlin Clark sets NCAA women's scoring record
On Thursday, Feb. 15, Iowa guard and NCAA phenom Caitlin Clark became the highest-scoring NCAA women’s basketball player of all time, and it only took her 2 minutes and 12 seconds to make it happen. As she sank a three-pointer early in the first quarter, she beat the mark previously set by the Washington Huskies’ Kelsey Plum (3,527). Clark holds the record, with 3,569 points after scoring an astounding 49 points in Thursday night’s game. In the leadup to Thursday’s game, attention was focused on Clark’s imminent defeat of Plum’s record; however, Clark broke a handful of other records that night or recently, and she’s on track to claim a few more.
Here’s how else Clark is dominating:
- On Thursday, Clark scored her career-high points in a game, with 49. She also broke the Iowa women’s basketball record for points-per-game, previously held by Megan Gustafson, who held the school record with 48.
- Clark scored the most points in any first quarter in her Iowa career on Thursday (23). It was also the second-most points she’s scored in any quarter in her Iowa career.
- Clark also recently became the first Division I women's player to reach 3,000 points and 1,000 assists. She secured the former earlier this season in December and the latter just last week.
- And just two weeks ago, Clark made history by surpassing Kelsey Mitchell to secure the Big Ten all-time scoring record.
Are there any records left to break?
- The record that Clark broke on Thursday - Kelsey Plum’s overall points - is the NCAA record, which incorporated women’s basketball 1982. Before the NCAA, women’s sports were represented by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), which was dissolved when the NCAA took over. However, a larger number still looms. From 1977 to 1981, Lynette Woodard of Kansas scored 3,649 career points and holds the record for points scored by any women’s basketball player in history at a large school. Clark is 80 points shy of beating Woodard’s record.
- And there’s more! The AIAW overall record - not just large schools - is held by Pearl Moore, who scored 4,061 points for Francis Marion by 1979.
And, of course, there’s Pistol Pete. LSU’s Pete Maravich holds the men’s NCAA record for career points, scoring 3,667 by 1970. Clark is currently 98 points shy of this record.