To know Caitlin Clark is to know her greatness. To understand her stats is to understand the way that she is shifting the landscape of women’s college basketball.
While the Iowa junior ranked amongst the top players in the country in seasons past, this year has seen Clark set herself apart. Around every corner lies a record that Clark has broken, or a star player whose milestone she has matched or surpassed: Kevin Durant, Sabrina Ionescu, Dwyane Wade, Elena Delle Donne – the list goes on.
If you ask Clark, the season is not about the personal accolades but about helping her team to the Final Four. Even still, in honor of Clark’s run with Iowa, Just Women’s Sports is taking a look at four of her best performances this season.
March 26, 2023: 41 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists
Elite Eight vs. Louisville
Trying to put Clark’s Elite Eight performance into words may be impossible. With the triple-double, she became the first player in the history of NCAA basketball – men’s or women’s – to record not just a 30-point but also a 40-point triple-double in the NCAA Tournament.
What else was historic about the performance?
- Clark is now the only player in D-I history to have multiple career 35-point triple doubles, having recorded a 35-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist performance against Minnesota earlier this season.
- She also became the first player in D-I history to record 900 points and 300 assists in a season.
- She was responsible for 70 of Iowa’s 92 points, the most in an NCAA Tournament game since at least 2000, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
- Over her last five games, Clark is averaging 30.0 points, 12.2 assists and 51.6 percent shooting. She’s the only D-I player to record those stats over a five-game span since 2000.
March 5, 2023: 30 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists
Big Ten Tournament championship vs. Ohio State
Clark’s 10th career triple-double came in the Big Ten Tournament championship final, as she propelled Iowa to a dominant 105-72 win over Ohio State to take their second straight title. It was also the first triple-double ever recorded in the final of the Big Ten women’s tournament.
She had 23 points, nine assists and five rebounds at halftime, which was enough to turn heads. And, on top of the triple-double, Clark became the first D-I player in the last 20 years to have 30 points and at least 15 assists in a game.
February 26, 2023: 34 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists
Regular-season finale vs. Indiana
Perhaps no shot defines Clark’s time at Iowa better than her game-winning buzzer-beater against Indiana. While she neared a triple-double in that game, Clark went just 4-of-12 from 3-point range – but one of those included the last-second shot to secure the win. And if you ask her, ESPN’s Holly Rowe did postgame, she knew the shot was going in.
“I thought it was money,” she said.
It was a shot heard throughout the sports world, going viral across social media. And while the argument could have been made before, this 3-pointer cemented her status as a game-changer for women’s basketball.
February 2, 2022: 42 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists
Regular-season game vs. Maryland
Following another 40-plus point performance against NC State earlier in the regular season, Clark threw up 42 points against then-No. 8 Maryland in February. It was her sixth career 40-point game, the most in Big Ten history.
She’s also just the second player over the last 20 seasons to have a 40/5/5 game in a win against a top-10 opponent. Lindsay Whalen, who did so for Minnesota in 2002, went on to win four WNBA titles with the Minnesota Lynx and is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame.
