Caitlin Clark record watch: Iowa star nearing additional scoring milestones

A record-breaking night years in the making took less than three minutes to reach its defining moment. Caitlin Clark made sure of that.

The Iowa women’s basketball star pulled up from the Tigerhawk logo inside a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena against Michigan on February 15 and fired a 35-footer in transition that found the bottom of the net—and cemented No. 22 as No. 1. Clark’s first-quarter heave pushed the sharpshooter past Kelsey Plum’s 3,527-point mark and into position as the all-time leading scorer in Division I NCAA women’s basketball history.

“I don’t know if you could script it any better,” the senior said of her record postgame. “Just to do it in this fashion, I’m very grateful and thankful to be surrounded by so many people who have been my foundation in everything I’ve done since I was a young little girl. You all knew I was going to shoot the logo 3 for the record.”

Time will tell if Clark passes another batch of upcoming milestones in such fitting fashion.

The reigning Naismith Player of the Year’s NCAA scoring pursuit—recognized by the Big Ten with a celebratory video featuring messages from Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, among others—is over. But a quest for more scoring greatness is ongoing.

Clark scored a school-record 49 points in a blowout win over Michigan, then most recently followed that up with 24 more in No. 4 Iowa’s 86-69 road loss to No. 14 Indiana on Thursday, giving the West Des Moines product 3,593 points (and counting) over her four-year collegiate career. The 22-year-old returns to Carver on Sunday for Iowa’s (23-4 record) home matchup with Illinois (13-12) as March Madness, and additional scoring achievements, approach on the calendar.

In the aftermath of passing Plum, here are the other scoring breakthroughs Clark is nearing.

College Basketball Scoring Record-Holders

Clark stands alone atop the NCAA’s all-time women’s points leaderboard, though there are some scoring legacies the guard is still chasing.

Lynette Woodard, who played at Kansas, holds the major women’s college basketball scoring record with 3,649 points scored from 1977-81. At that time, women’s hoops were governed by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, meaning the NCAA does not recognize those statistics in its official record-keeping. Woodard released a statement when Clark passed the official NCAA tally, a moment that the Hall of Famer hoped would serve as an opportunity to appreciate greatness from basketball’s past.

“Back then, collegiate women’s players used a larger basketball, and we did not have a 3-point line,” a portion of Woodard’s statement said. “In honoring Caitlin’s accomplishments, I hope that we can also shine a light on the pioneers who paved the way before her. Women’s basketball has a glorious history that predates the NCAA’s involvement. I applaud Caitlin for everything she has done and look forward to watching her score many more points for years to come.”

Another of those basketball trailblazers Woodard alluded to is Pearl Moore.

The former Francis Marion standout, whom Clark is also catching up to scoring-wise, owns the overall women’s points record with 4,061 points from 1975-79 at the small-level college, according to the Associated Press. Moore’s college contributions aren’t as widely known since the eventual Hall of Famer did not play at the Division I level, but her point tally still stands as the standard in women’s college basketball. At least for now.

“Records were made to be broken,” Moore said in a recent interview, via National Public
Radio (NPR). “…I finished college at 22 and I’m 66 now, so that record [is] like 40 years [old], so records are made to be broken and if she does it, good for her.”

Another player to keep in mind on Clark scoring watch is Pete Maravich. “Pistol Pete” is the men’s NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader with 3,667 points (an astounding 44.2 per game) totaled from 1967-70, when there was no 3-point line (just as there wasn’t for Woodard or Moore) and freshmen weren’t permitted to play on varsity teams.

When Will Clark Pass Woodard, Maravich?

A giddy collection of Iowa fans inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena took a collective breath when Clark threw up her record-breaking 3-pointer, then let out a spirited roar once the swish confirmed scoring greatness. The Hawkeye faithful will have plenty of similar moments to cheer on soon enough—whether they come in Iowa City or elsewhere.

Clark enters Sunday 57 points away from passing Woodard on the scoring list and 75 from jumping Maravich as the highest-scoring basketball player in Division I NCAA basketball history—men’s or women’s.

The All-American, who over the last 25 seasons has recorded more 30-plus point games than any player in men’s or women’s college basketball (53), leads the nation with a 32.4-point scoring average this season. Sticking to that total, and Clark is on track to take Woodard’s title as the highest-scoring player in major women’s college basketball history during Iowa’s February 28 game at Minnesota. And at that same pace, the State Farm and Gatorade partner would move by Maravich in Iowa’s regular-season finale against No. 2 Ohio State in Iowa City on March 3—perhaps with another logo 3.

Clark, also No. 5 on the NCAA’s all-time assists list, would likely need to return for a fifth season (which she can do with an extra year of eligibility granted because of COVID-19 circumstances) to reach Moore’s total. The Iowa phenom is currently 468 points behind that mark. Even with a deep tournament run and Clark sticking to her regular scoring prowess, it would still take about 15 more games to tally that many points. The Hawkeyes have three regular-season games remaining, then a trip to the Big Ten Tournament—which Iowa has won two years in a row—and eventually the NCAA Tournament, where last season Clark led her team to the championship game.