Caitlin Clark is the best scorer in women’s basketball this season. And now, she’s also the best scorer in the history of women’s NCAA basketball.
On Thursday vs. Michigan, Clark broke the record set in 2017 by Washington’s Kelsey Plum when, fittingly, Clark hit a logo 3 with 7:48 left in the first quarter. She finished with a career-high 49 points, and congratulations poured in from all over the sports world.
There are still other records to break: Clark is on pace to top the men’s scoring record, set by Pete Maravich in 1970 (3,667 points) in just three seasons, back before the 3-point line existed.
She should also pass Lynette Woodard, who set the all-time women’s college scoring record at Kansas from 1977-81 when she scored 3,649 points for the Jayhawks. The NCAA didn’t run women’s basketball back then, which means Woodard’s record has been confined to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) record books.
Both records would be impressive feats for the senior All-American who led Iowa to the national championship game in April after being named the consensus national player of the year. Clark is expected to be the 2024 national player of the year, too.
How many points did Caitlin Clark score in Iowa’s game last night?
vs. Michigan, Feb. 15: First, Clark broke the scoring record in quick fashion, launching and connecting on a logo 3 just 2 minutes, 12 seconds into the game to top Kelsey Plum’s previous high of 3,527. But she didn’t exactly slow down after that, scoring a career-high 49 points in Iowa’s 106-89 win. She shot 16-of-31 from the field, including 9-of-18 from 3, and tallied 13 assists and five rebounds, too.
How many career points does Caitlin Clark have?
Caitlin Clark has 3,569 career points (and counting!) after scoring 49 vs. Michigan.
Points shy of breaking Maravich’s record: 99
Caitlin Clark’s next game on TV?
Clark and Iowa will return to the court next Thursday at No. 12 Indiana. Tip is set for 8 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on Peacock.
Iowa’s schedule the rest of the season:
Thursday, Feb. 22 at Indiana, 8 p.m. ET on Peacock
Sunday, Feb. 25 vs. Illinois, 1 p.m. ET on FS1
Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Minnesota, 9 p.m. ET on Peacock
Sunday, March 3 vs. Ohio State, 1 p.m. on FOX
March 6-10, Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis, times and TV vary
Caitlin Clark game-by-game points in 2023-24
Here’s a breakdown of Clark’s scoring this season for the Hawkeyes:
vs. Michigan, 2/15/24: 49 points
at Nebraska, 2/11/24: 31 points
vs. Penn State, 2/8/24: 27 points
at Maryland, 2/3/24: 38 points
at Northwestern, 1/31/24: 35 points
vs. Nebraska, 1/27/2024: 38 points
at Ohio State, 1/21/2024: 45 points (season-high)
vs. Wisconsin, 1/16/2024: 32 points
vs. Indiana, 1/13/2024: 30 points
at Purdue, 1/10/2024: 26 points
at Rutgers, 1/5/2024: 29 points
vs. Michigan State, 1/2/2024: 40 points
vs. Minnesota, 12/30/2023: 35 points
vs. Loyola Chicago, 12/21/2023: 35 points
vs. Cleveland State, 12/16/2023: 38 points
at Wisconsin, 12/10/2023: 28 points
vs. Iowa State, 12/6/2023: 35 points
vs. Bowling Green, 12/2/2023: 24 points
vs. Kansas State, 11/26/2023: 32 points
vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 11/25/2023: 21 points
vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, 11/24/2023: 29 points
vs. Drake, 11/19/2023: 35 points
vs. Kansas State, 11/16/2023: 24 points
at UNI, 11/12/2023: 24 points
vs. Virginia Tech, 11/9/2023: 44 points
vs. FDU, 11/6/2023: 28 points
How many points does Caitlin Clark average per game?
Through 25 games in the 2023-24 season, Clark is averaging 32.8 points. Over her career, she’s averaged 28.3 points.
One of the most impressive parts of Clark’s game is that she’s averaged more points each season. Here’s how it breaks down:
Freshman year: 26.6 points
Sophomore year: 27.0 points
Junior year: 27.8 points
Senior year: 32.8 points
What is Caitlin Clark’s shooting percentage?
In a word: impressive. Clark is currently connecting on 47.5% of her shots and 39.9% from 3-point range, eye-popping when you consider the attention she demands from defenses. Her ability to score consistently from long-range is especially impressive considering that she takes so many 3s from 25 feet or deeper (the college 3-point line is 22 feet, 1.75 inches).
What is Caitlin Clark’s highest-scoring game?
Clark’s highest-scoring game came on Feb. 16, 2024, when she dropped 49 points vs. Michigan in Iowa’s 106-89 win. It wasn’t just her single-game career high, but also a program record for single game scoring. Additionally, she handed out 13 assists and grabbed five rebounds, the 58th double-double of her career.
Who is Pete Maravich, NCAA’s all-time leading scorer?
The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich of LSU, was a shooting, dribbling and passing whiz who dominated the college game during his three seasons in Baton Rouge.
The son of Tigers coach Press Maravich averaged an astounding 44.2 points per game for his career, finishing with an NCAA record 3,667 – a total that Iowa women’s star Caitlin Clark has a chance to surpass this season.
Unlike Clark, Maravich did not have the advantage of the 3-point shot, which was universally implemented by the NCAA for the 1987 season. He also accumulated his record-setting point total in just three seasons of college basketball.
Who is Lynette Woodard, women’s college basketball’s all-time leading scorer?
Woodard is a Wichita, Kansas native and after her high school playing days, she arrived at the University of Kansas in 1977.
Woodard was the captain and second-leading scorer for the United States as Team USA took the gold medal in basketball at the 1984 Olympic games in Los Angeles. A year later, she became the first woman ever to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.
When Woodard started playing college basketball, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was the governing body for women’s college sports. The NCAA did not start sponsoring women’s sports until 1982, holding the first NCAA women’s tournament that season.
Because Woodard’s 3,639 career points at Kansas predates the NCAA’s sponsor of women’s sports, her stats and records are not found or recognized in the NCAA’s official record books.
