There was only one way that Caitlin Clark could have broken the NCAA DI women’s basketball scoring record, and that’s with a logo three.
Clark entered Thursday’s game against Michigan needing 8 points to pass Kelsey Plum. It took her two minutes to get there, as she scored 8 straight, including the logo three to break the record in style.
While she didn’t initially have a plan in place for setting the record, the way she did it didn’t come as a surprise.
“You all knew I was going to shoot a logo 3 for the record,” Clark said after the game. “I stepped back to my left a little bit and was able to get it off. Warming up, my shot felt good, and I knew it was going to be one of those nights. I had the pep in my step. I’m so thankful my teammates let me be me.”
She would go on to score 23 points in the first quarter – the most points scored in a first quarter in her Iowa career.
THE shot. @caitlinclark22 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/Pd442DeYzR
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 16, 2024
It wasn’t the only big thing about Clark’s night, as she scored a career-high 49 points in Iowa’s 106-89 win, breaking the scoring record for Carver Hawkeye-Arena set roughly a week earlier by teammate Hannah Stuelke.
“I don’t know if you can really script it any better. To do it in this fashion, I’m very grateful. I started crying watching that video because I feel so much gratitude and love. The way these fans support women’s basketball is so special.”
She also had 13 assists in the game, meaning scored or assisted on 79 of the Hawkeyes’ 106 points. That’s the most in a game by a DI player in the last 25 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Clark now has 3,569 career points, with four games left to go in the regular season, meaning she could extend the record. Her 16 30-point games this season leads DI, and she leads the country in scoring.
According to OptaSTATS, no one else in basketball history – NBA, WNBA or NCAA – has reached 3,569 points, 1,018 assists, 882 rebounds and 487 threes made over a 126-game span.
“It really is hard to stop Caitlin Clark,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.
“It’s spectacular,” she continued. “She does it with flair, confidence and passion. Wasn’t it fitting that she hit the logo three to break the record? And then you might as well keep going and get 49 [points]. It was absolutely perfect.”
After the game, t-shirts were handed out to teammates that read “You break it, you own it,” while mock copies of the Des Moines Register with the headline “Unmatched” were handed out. A congratulatory video with messages from family and friends had Clark emotional.
“They’ve seen me go through some really hard losses and some really great wins,” Clark said of her parents and two brothers. “They’ve been there pushing me to be my very best and allowing me to dream ever since I was a young girl. I didn’t plan on crying tonight, but it got me a little bit.
“I’m so thankful every single day, because I’m playing in front of 15,000 people. I get to do it with my best friends. I get to play the game that I absolutely love more than anything.”