Iowa star Caitlin Clark has officially broken the all-time NCAA women’s scoring record, and she did so in extraordinary fashion. Clark scored a career-best 49 points during her record-setting night, making Iowa’s 106-89 win against Michigan on Thursday one to remember.
Clark ended Thursday’s game with 3,569 career points, and she’ll surely add a bunch more to that total over the rest of the season.
“I’m just really grateful. Thankful for everyone who came out tonight and supports our team night in and night out,” Clark told the crowd after the game. “This wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for these girls standing right here, my coaches. My family is over here. They let me be me every single day, and I’m just lucky I get to wear ‘Iowa’ on my chest and Coach [Lisa] Bluder lets me be Caitlin.
“I’m just really grateful, but we got a lot more winning to do, so let’s go!”
The previous NCAA women’s scoring record was 3,527 points, which two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum tallied during her time playing with the Washington Huskies. Clark was just eight points shy of the record before Thursday.
The history-making bucket occurred just 2:12 seconds into the game. It arrived in the most Caitlin Clark way possible: a 3-pointer from the logo.
A sold-out crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena got to witness the special moment, and Clark immediately received a rousing ovation. Despite Clark discouraging it, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder called a timeout to give Clark, her teammates and the fans a quick moment to celebrate.
Clark didn’t just break the record — she arrived to the game on a mission to absolutely smash it. She registered 23 points in the first quarter and went on to finish with 49 points and 13 assists. This was Clark’s 12th 40-point game, as well as a new single-game scoring record for Iowa.
“When you do it, you do it well,” Bluder said.
Clark has been leading all Division I college basketball players in points and assists per game through the 2023-24 campaign. This season, Clark became just the sixth woman to register 1,000 assists, and she’s the only player in Division I history to record 3,000 points and 1,000 assists in a single career.
While Clark has already claimed the NCAA women’s scoring title, her record chasing is far from over. It’s also possible Clark surpasses the overall Division I scoring record of 3,667 points that Pete Maravich tallied at LSU.
The sports world, not just college basketball, has placed a bright spotlight on Clark. That could feel like a lot of pressure for anybody, even the biggest stars, but she has been embracing it all.
“We always talk about pressure as a privilege,” Clark told CBS Sports. ” … You want those expectations. You want people to expect you to be great.”
After the game, Clark hugged her family and watched an emotional video with messages from those closest to her. Iowa fans stayed in the arena for the postgame celebration. A video of her greatest moments played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as the new women’s all-time leading scorer took it all in.
Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire” played while Clark’s teammates picked her up. She had the game ball in her hands, and her teammates carried newspapers with her picture in the front and the headline “UNMATCHED.”
“Let’s hear it for No. 22, Caitlin Clark,” the announcer said one last time as the arena continued to roar for the greatest player to ever step foot on its court.
