Iowa’s Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA women’s hoops scoring record،
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark had no specific plans for how she hoped to break the NCAA women's basketball scoring record Thursday. But after doing that while setting the Iowa Hawkeyes' single-game scoring record, Clark had to smile.
“You all knew I was going to hit a logo 3 for the record,” said Clark, who now has 3,569 career points, including 49 on Thursday. And indeed, every aspect of the evening seemed perfect for the senior star.
Clark entered No. 4 Iowa's game against Michigan with 3,520 points, needing eight to break the mark previously set by Washington's Kelsey Plum (3,527) from 2013 to 2017. Clark done as quickly as she could.
She got the ball in the first end and made a layup. Then she scored a deep 3-pointer from her favorite spot on the court, the left side. An even deeper 3-pointer from the same side — one of Clark's signature shots from the logo — caused pandemonium in the packed Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
It took Clark just 2 minutes and 12 seconds to become the NCAA record holder. By the end of Iowa's 106-89 win over the Wolverines, she had also broken Megan Gustafson's school record of 48.
“I don’t know if you can really write the script any better,” Clark said. “Just to do it this way, I'm very grateful. Very grateful to be surrounded by so many people who have been my foundation.”
It was Clark's fourth career game with 45 or more points and she had 13 assists. In total, she scored or assisted on 79 of Iowa's 106 points (74.5%).
“It’s really hard to stop Caitlin Clark,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.
“I think she likes it,” she added of how Clark seems to shine most in the biggest moments. “If you work so hard at your craft, don't you want to share it with everyone? Don't you want to express it?”
Clark and Bluder said before the game that they didn't expect play to be stopped when the record arrived. However, Iowa took a timeout and Clark's teammates gathered with her in a happy group hug on the court. Clark's wide smile told the story of the evening: the pursuit record, she said, had never seemed like a burden, it was now hers to celebrate.
But she was far from finished. Clark made 8 of 10 from the field – 5 of 7 from 3-point range – in the first quarter, scoring 23 points. It was the most points she has scored in a first quarter of her Iowa career, and the second most of any quarter. She had 25 in the fourth quarter of a loss to Michigan on February 6, 2022.
From there, it was just a question of how far she would go on Thursday.
“Honestly, in warm-up, my shot felt just nice,” Clark said. “So I knew it was going to be one of those nights, and I kind of played with a little more pep in my step. I knew that's what this team needed after a loss.”
Clark had 31 points Sunday at Nebraska as the Hawkeyes were upset 82-79. But there was nothing the Wolverines could do to stop Clark from taking over Thursday. Bluder praised Michigan, saying that although the Wolverines fought in the game, they also gave Clark a gift and wrote him congratulatory notes.
Clark could achieve even more goals this season. The AIAW women's big-school record — set just before the NCAA era by Lynette Woodard of Kansas from 1977 to 1981 — is 3,649 points. The NCAA men's record is 3,667 by Pete Maravich of LSU from 1967 to 1970, before freshman eligibility in college basketball.
There's also a chance the AIAW overall record — 3,884 points, set by Pearl Moore of Francis Marion from 1975-79 — could be in play for Clark, depending on how far Iowa advances in the postseason. . Clark is currently averaging 32.8 points for the 23-3 Hawkeyes, who have four regular season games remaining.
Clark is already the first Division I women's player to reach 3,000 points and 1,000 assists. But the records and milestones are only part of its story. He is a generational talent who is increasing the popularity of his sport.
“My favorite athletes are those who are champions in sports and champions in life, and Caitlin Clark is one of those athletes,” tennis champion and women's sports advocate Billie Jean King told ESPN.
“She is the hottest star in basketball – in all of basketball, not just women's basketball – and with that comes the heavy responsibility of being a leader on and off the court. She understands , and that's part of the reason she will have the opportunity to be one of the best in her sport and a role model for future generations.
There's a lot on the shoulders of the just-turned-22-year-old, but Clark looks like she's having the time of her life. She plays with the same passion, confidence and joyful spirit that she first brought to the court as a college freshman in 2020, when games were mostly played in nearly empty arenas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, the “Caitlin Clark Show” is one of the most sought-after sports tickets. Fans of all ages shout his name and wear his No. 22 jersey. Parents drive their children hundreds of miles to observe Clark. Police escort him to and from the arena on game days, as well as on and off the field.
NCAA rule changes regarding name, image and likeness allowed Clark to appear in national advertising campaigns. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes complimented his play while speaking to the media in the run-up to the Super Bowl. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, widely considered the best shooter in NBA history, praised Clark's form and composure.
“Caitlin’s special,” said Curry, one of the players — alongside the WNBA’s Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Plum and Sabrina Ionescu — who Clark modeled her game after. “The record speaks for itself , and that's cool. From a scoring standpoint, from a shooting standpoint, just doing what she does, she could choose anyone that she talks about as inspiration. If she models something thing about his game after me, I don't take that for granted.”
ESPN analyst, 1995 UConn national champion and 1996 Olympian Rebecca Lobo, said Clark and Curry had similar qualities that made them both successful and appealing to a wide range of fans.
“Caitlin is the whole package,” Lobo said. “She plays the game in a way we've never seen before from a woman. We haven't seen someone take that many shots from that distance and hit them that far.” [a high percentage].
“And she's like Steph Curry – he's charismatic and he's not a physical giant. So every kid can visualize themselves as Caitlin Clark. It's not like, 'Well, to play like her, I'd have to be 6-4 years old or 6-5.' Caitlin is 6-0, but you actually don't have to be that big to try to do the things she does.”
The West Des Moines, Iowa, native chose to stay in her home state for college, leading Iowa to the last two Big Ten tournament titles and the 2023 Women's Final Four. Last season , she broke the NCAA tournament scoring record (191 points), had the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA playoff history and led Iowa to an upset of the Undefeated No. 1 seed and defending champion South Carolina. national semi-finals.
Iowa fell to LSU in the championship game, which drew a record 9.9 million viewers on ABC. The 2023 NCAA Tournament has propelled Clark to another level of popularity. That has continued to grow since the Hawkeyes' preseason game in October at Iowa Football Stadium, which drew 55,646 fans, a single-game attendance record for women's basketball.
“You need superstars in sport,” Olympic and world soccer champion Julie Foudy told ESPN. “Mia [Hamm] was our superstar. She was shy and introverted. Caitlin seems more comfortable with all the attention.
“But Mia then, as Caitlin does now, also recognized the meaning and importance of her popularity. The value of it, not just individually but collectively, and how so many other women could benefit from his fame.”
Clark could stay another season at Iowa, due to the 2020-21 COVID-19 waiver, or she could declare for the 2024 WNBA Draft, where she is certain to be the No. 1 pick. Clark said she would wait to make that decision until after this season.
The Carver-Hawkeye crowd chanted, “One more year!” » at the end of Thursday's match.
“I paid for them,” Bluder joked. “I thought it was a really good song.”
For now, Clark is focused on trying to win the regular season and Big Ten tournament championships for Iowa, and returning to the women's Final Four. And with every extra point she scores, she'll add to her own NCAA record.
Clark said what made her most emotional after the game were the congratulatory messages played on the arena's video screen from her coaches, teammates and family.
“They’ve seen me have some really tough losses and some really great wins,” Clark said of his parents and two brothers. “They pushed me to be the best I could be and allowed me to dream since I was little. I wasn't planning on crying tonight, but it touched me a little.
“I'm so grateful every day, because I get to play in front of 15,000 people. I get to do it with my best friends. I get to play the game that I love more than anything.”
