Caitlin Clark becomes All-Time NCAA Women’s Scoring Leader

Iowa senior guard Caitlin Clark made history Thursday night. Clark scored a career high and single-game school record 49 points against Michigan to become the NCAA women’s all-time scoring leader.

How Clark Made History

Clark needed eight points going into Thursday’s contest to move past Kelsey Plum’s record of 3,527 career points.

The Iowa guard immediately opened up the scoring within the game’s first 11 seconds, getting a right-hand layup to go. She then scored her fifth point of the game just 30 seconds later, connecting on a catch and shoot 3-pointer from the left side of the court between the wing and the top of the key.

Clark would then break Plum’s record in style. With 7:49 left in the first quarter, Clark, with a running start, received a pass from senior guard Gabbie Marshall near the opposing three point line on the left side of the court. Clark, who’s especially known for her 3-point shooting prowess, took two long dribbles up the court before pulling up to drain a deep 3 from near the Hawkeye logo at half court.

Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder then called a timeout on the Hawkeyes’ next possession to honor Clark as the crowd came to a standing ovation in recognition of the historic achievement.

Clark finished the night with a final stat line of 49 points, five rebounds and 13 assists, shooting 16-31 from the field and 9-18 from the 3-point line.

Born to be a Hawkeye

Clark was born in Des Moines and grew up in West Des Moines, attending Dowling Catholic High School before committing to Iowa in November 2019. She was a five-star recruit coming out of high school, ranked as the fourth best girls basketball player in the 2020 class by ESPN. Four years later, Clark has scored a total of 3,569 points for the Hawkeyes and is the projected No. 1 overall pick in ESPN’s latest WNBA mock draft.

The 2023 Naismith Women’s Player of the Year winner still has a fifth year of eligibility because of the NCAA’s rule change in 2020, which granted an extra year of eligibility to athletes if their team’s season was affected by COVID-19. With COVID-19 coinciding with Clark’s freshmen season, she qualifies for an extra year.

For now, she is still a Hawkeye and may not be done making history this season. The No. 4 Hawkeyes are 23-3 this season and in search of the program’s first national championship. Clark and Iowa fell to LSU in the 2023 National Championship Game, but the Hawkeyes intend to avenge that loss with a championship win in 2024.

Clark leads the country in scoring with 32.8 points per game and has another opportunity to extend her scoring record Thursday against No. 14 Indiana on the road.