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.

With just six games to play, the currently unbeaten Orlando Pride could become the first club in NWSL history to finish regular-season play without a single loss.

Having already clinched an NWSL playoff spot — the Pride's first since 2017 — Orlando extended their record-breaking unbeaten run to 21​ with Friday's 0-0 draw with third-place Kansas City. The weekend's result was also the club's fourth-straight clean sheet, setting a new club record.

However, the path to NWSL glory won't be easy: Orlando will face four top teams before the regular season's early November finale.

Portland Thorns continue late-season NWSL losing streak

Elsewhere on Friday, USWNT stars Sophia Smith​ and Sam Coffey's Portland Thorns dropped their fourth-straight​ match — the longest regular-season losing streak in club history.

After a historically slow start to 2024, Portland reassigned head coach Mike Norris and promoted assistant coach Rob Gale. The team quickly responded, rattling off result after result to climb the NWSL table and insert themselves into Shield contention. Momentum, however, has waned since the Olympic break.

With Friday's 1-0 loss to Chicago on Friday, Portland is still sixth in the standings, but a slim two points over Bay FC is all that separates them from the eighth and final playoff spot.

With the playoff race heating up​, the four-time league champs​ must rally around standouts like Smith. Otherwise, the Thorns are in danger of putting up the worst regular-season finish in club history.

Washington Spirit win books ticket to NWSL postseason

In other postseason news, the Spirit became the second club to clinch a playoff berth this weekend, downing Houston 3-0 on Sunday.

Striker Ashley Hatch led Washington's scoring with a first-half brace, while forward Trinity Rodman notched an assist before netting the team's third goal.

The WNBA has a new single-season scoring champ in A'ja Wilson, who surpassed Jewell Loyd's 2023 record of 939 points by dropping 27 against Indiana on Wednesday, boosting her season total to 956.

With four games left​ in Las Vegas's season, Wilson could easily become the first WNBA player to ever record 1,000+ points in one season.

"She's not just the best player in the world, she might be the most loved and adored by her teammates. I mean, this woman is special," commented Aces head coach Becky Hammon after the game.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

2024 has been the year of the broken WNBA record

Thanks to achievements at both the individual and team level, the 2024 WNBA season has already left a lasting impression on the record books. In addition to Wilson's points tally, Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese set a new single-season rebound record before a wrist injury cut her season short.

Just five assists away from setting a new single-season assists record, Indiana rookie Caitlin Clark is on the brink of joining the bar-raising party.

While adding games likely plays a role in these feats, 2024 — the league's second 40-game run — has seen all three major stats fall in record time. Reese broke Sylvia Fowles's rebound record in 32 games this season, Wilson surpassed Loyd's scoring record in 35, and Clark is looking to break Alyssa Thomas's assist record in 38.

Final WNBA playoff spot on the line in last regular-season weekend

Tonight, Wilson and Clark will face off in their last regular-season matchup, as Indiana tries to earn their first win against the reigning champs this year.

Meanwhile, the race for the final playoff spot has never been tighter. Wednesday's huge win over Chicago putting the 10th-place Mystics just one game outside of postseason contention. With two games against ninth-place Atlanta this weekend, Washington could officially rise into that last playoff spot by Sunday night.

As for current eight-spot Chicago, the Sky will try to maintain their position by bouncing back against second-place Minnesota tonight before the top four teams in the standings battle for survival on Sunday.

Earlier this week, the WNBA Players Union (WNBPA) spoke up against controversial comments made by league commissioner Cathy Engelbert on CNBC's Power Lunch on Monday.

When asked to address concerning social media exchanges regarding superstar rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese "where race... where sexuality is sometimes introduced into the conversation," Engelbert dodged the question, choosing instead to frame what she described as a "rivalry" in a positive light.

"The one thing I know about sports, you need rivalry," said the commissioner, comparing Reese and Clark to Magic Johnson​ and Larry Bird. "That's what makes people watch. They want to watch games of consequence between rivals. They don't want everybody being nice to one another."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

WNBPA calls out subjects WNBA comm'r Engelbert dodged

After players began calling Engelbert out online, the WNBPA issued a statement denouncing racism, homophobia, and misogyny.

"Here is the answer that the Commissioner should have provided to the very clear question regarding the racism, misogyny, and harassment experienced by the Players," the statement read.

There is absolutely no place in sport — or in life — for the vile hate, racist language, homophobic comments, and the misogynistic attacks our players are facing on social media.... Fandom should lift up the game, not tear down the very people who bring it to life."

WNBA stars address Engelbert's CNBC comments

Some of the league's top players took to the press to reinforce the WNBPA's words, including Aces forward Alysha Clark.

"It's taken a darker turn in terms of the types of comments and the vitriol that's coming through to the players, and it's not okay," Clark told ESPN. "I wish [Engelbert] would have just said that — 'It's not okay.'"

Liberty star Breanna Stewart echoed Clark's sentiments, saying "The way that the fans have surged, and especially behind Caitlin and Angel coming to this league, but also bringing a race aspect to a different level — you know, there's no place for that in our sport."

Engelbert later responded to the Players Union's statement in a post on X, writing "there is absolutely no place for hate or racism of any kind in the WNBA or anywhere else."

Earlier this week, ESPN released the results of an anonymous study surveying all 14 NWSL general managers, providing key insights into the growing league.

While nearly all respondents agreed that depth of competition sets the NWSL apart on a global level, they hold differing opinions about the league’s inner workings.

NWSL budgets and entry draft elimination are key concerns

Budgetary practices were a common concern of GMs across the board, while the loss of the entry draft — ushered in by the league's new CBA — presented similar issues.

Some GMs pointed out that many teams aren't yet profitable enough to justify current costs, while others pushed for more spending in order to draw top players away from leagues that don't impose a hard salary cap, like the UK's WSL.

Similarly, because the US lacks any true professional development infrastructure, GMs worry that dropping the college draft will divert young US talent overseas, ultimately softening the NWSL’s competitive edge.

Some GMs claim NWSL player protections have "gone too far"

When asked about recent cultural reforms in the wake of sexual misconduct and abuse allegations, multiple GMs claimed that efforts to protect players have "gone too far," spreading fear and confusion among staff.

Yesterday, retired NWSL star Ali Krieger took to ESPN's Futbol W to respond, saying she didn't "have a lot of sympathy for those few GMs that might be a little bit more disgruntled on this topic."

"You have to, in those positions of power, be respectful and do your job and do it well," she continued. "You shouldn’t have any worry about what you say, how you say it, what you do, how you do it, if you’re just doing the right thing and you’re being respectful and you’re doing your job appropriately."