Caitlin Clark now stands alone.
The Iowa Hawkeyes star broke the NCAA Division I women's basketball all-time scoring record in the first quarter of Thursday's game against Michigan at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
Clark was just eight points away from breaking the the previous record of 3,527 points, which was held by ex-University of Washington guard and current Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum. Clark made her first three shots to score Iowa's first eight points against Michigan, capped by a record-breaking pull-up 3-pointer from the logo in transition.
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Clark outscored the entire Michigan team (22 points) by herself in the first quarter with a whopping 23 points, shooting 5-for-7 from 3 and 8-for-10 overall. And she went on to make even more history before the night was over.
Clark topped her previous career high of 46 points, which she set against Michigan in February 2022. With a 3-pointer in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Clark achieved a new career best and Iowa program record of 49 points.
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She would finish with 49 points, 13 assists and five rebounds to lead No. 4 Iowa to a 106-89 win. She shot 16-for 31 from the field, 9-for-18 from 3 and 8-for-8 at the free throw line. Her nine made 3-pointers also tied a career high.
Clark, a senior, entered Thursday's action averaging 32.1 points per game — a career-high. She averaged 26.6 points as a freshman, 27.0 points as a sophomore and 27.8 points as a junior.
In her senior season, Clark has taken her game to another level with massive crowds flocking to every Hawkeyes game. She has now has 16 games with at least 30 points and four games with at least 40 points. No. 4 Iowa is 23-3 on the season, poised to make another run at the Final Four after losing to LSU in the national championship game last April.
With 3,569 career points, Clark can now set her sights on Pete Maravich, who owns the NCAA basketball all-time scoring record for men's and women's at 3,667 points. At her current pace, Clark should have no trouble surpassing that number before the end of the season. Iowa has four regular-season games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
