Caitlin Clark's quest to break Division I women's scoring record: Clark makes history vs. Michigan

Caitlin Clark broke the NCAA Division I women’s scoring record Thursday, less than three minutes into the first quarter of a home game against Michigan. But she didn't stop there, she reached a career-high with a whopping 49 points.

The 6-foot Iowa point guard is now first on the all-time list, the result of a career-high scoring clip this season. Kelsey Plum, who has two WNBA championships with the Las Vegas Aces, set the mark with 3,527 points at Washington from 2013-17. Clark, who is averaging 32.1 points per game in her senior year with the Hawkeyes, came into the Thursday's matchup trailing that mark by seven points. She also became the Big Ten conference's all-time leading scorer on Jan. 31 in their win over Northwestern.

LSU legend Pete Maravich holds the men’s mark with 3,667 points, which Clark is also within striking distance of this year. She is the reigning Naismith and Wooden Player of the Year winner and the leading candidate for those awards again in 2024. Iowa is ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and looking to return to the national title game, where it lost to LSU last spring.

Yahoo Sports has tracked Clark’s quest for the all-time scoring mark after every Iowa game. She has an extra year of eligibility available if she chooses to stay a fifth year. If she opts into the 2024 WNBA Draft, which is held in April, she is expected to go No. 1 to the Indiana Fever.

Women’s Division I all-time scoring list

1. Caitlin Clark (Iowa) — 3,569

2. Kelsey Plum (Washington, 2017) — 3,527
3. Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State, 2018) — 3,402
4. Jackie Stiles (Missouri State, 2001) — 3,393
5. Brittney Griner (Baylor, 2013) — 3,283
6. Dyaisha Fair (Syracuse, active) — 3,184*
7. Patricia Hoskins (Mississippi Valley State, 1989) — 3,122
8. Lorri Bauman (Drake, 1984) — 3,115
9. Jerica Coley (FIU, 2014) — 3,107
10. Rachel Banham (Minnesota, 2016) — 3,093
11. Ashley Joens (Iowa State, 2023) — 3,060*
12. Elena Delle Donne (Delaware, 2013) — 3,039

*Fair used an extra year of eligibility under the COVID-19 guidelines and is in her fifth season. She played the first three at Buffalo. Joens also used a fifth season under the waiver.

Caitlin Clark’s recent scoring performances

Feb. 15: Iowa 106, Michigan 89 — 49 points (3,569 career points)

No one could have written a more cinematic night for Clark. She broke the record on Thursday as expected, then went off for a career-high 49 points. Her previous mark of 46 was set in the 2022 conference game against Michigan. Her performance also marks a new single-game high for Iowa, one point better than Megan Gustafson's previous record.

The record-breaking basket was a Clark-style logo three:

Feb. 11: Nebraska 82, Iowa 79 — 31 points (3,520 career points)

Clark set herself up to break the record at home on Thursday.

She was in striking distance of doing so Sunday against Nebraska after exploding for 14 points in the third quarter to reach 31 for the game and eight behind Plum’s all-time record. But she was scoreless in the fourth as Nebraska mounted a rally from a 69-55 third-quarter deficit to secure an 82-79 upset.

While Clark didn’t break the record, she did secure her 1,000th career assist. She finished the day with 31 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Now she’s on pace to break the record in front of a home crowd in Iowa City on Thursday when the Hawkeyes host Michigan.

Feb. 8: Iowa 111, Penn State 93 — 27 points (3,489 career points)

Clark’s night wasn’t perfect on Thursday. She had nine turnovers in the first half, after all. But Clark still led the Hawkeyes to a dominant win over Penn State and inched closer to the all-time record.

Clark dropped 27 points and had 15 assists in the win on Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. She was instrumental in helping Hannah Stuelke to her career-high 47-points while shooting 17-of-20 from the field, too. Clark shot 8-of-23 from the field and 4-of-14 from the 3-point line.

She’s now just 38 points away from the record, something she can hit on Sunday afternoon against Nebraska. If she can’t get it in Lincoln, it’ll likely be next Thursday when the Hawkeyes host Michigan.

Feb. 3: Iowa 93, Maryland 85 — 38 points (3,462 career points)

Clark had another outstanding outing on Saturday in a 38-point effort to move 65 points behind Plum's record in a 93-85 win over Maryland.

The Terps gave the Hawkeyes a game in College Park, but Iowa closed the game on a 17-9 run to secure the win after it was tied a 76-76 midway through the fourth quarter. A deep 3-pointer from Clark after a pump fake broke the stalemate and triggered the late run.

Clark hit 13 of 29 shots from the field including 7 of 17 from long distance including a contested shot that beat the first-quarter buzzer, much to the delight of Fox announcer Gus Johnson.

Clark added 12 assists and six rebounds in yet another well-rounded effort.

Iowa improved to 21-2 with the win. The Hawkeyes next face Rutgers on the road on Tuesday.

Jan. 31: Iowa 110, Northwestern 74 — 35 points (3,424 career points)

Clark jumped two spots on the scoring list in the Hawkeyes' dominant win over Northwestern on Wednesday night.

First, Clark passed Jackie Stiles and moved into third place on the list in the first quarter of the win after she pulled up and easily drained a contested 3-pointer without much of a second thought.

She then passed Kelsey Mitchell and moved into second on the scoring list with an easy layup in the second quarter. That also made her the Big Ten's all-time scoring leader.

Clark finished the night with 35 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. She shot 11-of-22 from the field, and went just 3-of-12 from behind the arc.

No. 3 Iowa is now 20-2 on the season. The Hawkeyes will take on Maryland next on Saturday.

Jan. 27: Iowa 92, Nebraska 73 — 38 points (3,389 career points)

A day after her autographed NIL trading card sold for $78,000, Clark came five 5 points shy of No. 3 on the all-time list with 38 points in a dominant win over Nebraska on Saturday.

She highlighted an impressive run to close the first half with a perfectly timed 3-pointer:

The momentum carried into the third quarter and her shot was looking automatic. She went 12 for 22 from the field, 8-of-15 from deep and went 6-of-7 from the free throw line. She added 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Jan. 21: Ohio State 100, Iowa 92 — 45 points (3,351 career points)

In front of a sold out crowd of over 18,000 people in Columbus, Clark and the Hawkeyes came out strong against Ohio State, but they uncharacteristically ran out of gas late and sputtered in overtime to lose their first in-conference game of the season. Even Clark was throwing up misses by the end as OSU's defense squeezed the life out of Iowa.

But Iowa's star shone brightly with a season-high 45-points.

Clark also had seven assists, three rebounds, and made 14 of 16 free throws.

We also may be on Caitlin Clark injury watch. An Ohio State fan fully ran into her as Iowa was leaving the court. She appeared to be in pain as she was escorted to the locker room.

Jan. 16: Iowa 96, Wisconsin 50 — 32 points (3,306 career points)

After a bit of a slow start, Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes took off. Clark dropped 32 points to lead Iowa to a dominant win over the Badgers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday night. It marked the 47th 30-point night of her career, and Iowa’s 29th straight win over Wisconsin.

Clark had 19 of her 32 points in the first half, and helped spark a huge 15-2 run to open the second quarter — which pushed Iowa to its huge lead and eventually to the win. She shot 8-of-18 from the field and 6-of-14 from behind the arc.

Clark also passed Brittney Griner for No. 4 on the all-time scoring list early while at the free throw line.

She’s now at 3,306 points in her career, and 87 points behind Jackie Stiles in third on the all-time scoring list.

The Hawkeyes will take on No. 18 Ohio State next on Sunday.

Jan. 13: Iowa 84, Indiana 57 — 30 points (3,274 career points)

Clark's shot didn't fall early, but Molly Davis (18 points, 70% FG) stepped in to fuel Iowa until it did. Clark scored 30 shooting 10-of-21 (47%) with 11 assists, five rebounds, one block and one steal. She was 6-of-16 from 3, including going 4-of-5 in the second quarter with all her field goal attempts behind the arc.

Clark stayed down after colliding under the basket on an and-1 and appeared to slam her elbow into the ground. She also left briefly in the fourth quarter favoring her ankle, but returned and said on the TV broadcast there was no issue.

She came into the game averaging 28 points per game against Indiana. She was 40 points from passing Griner for fourth on the all-time list and is now nine points from passing the Baylor big.

Jan. 10: Iowa 96, Purdue 71 — 26 points (3,244 career points)

In front of another sold-out crowd on the road, Clark secured her 15th career triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. She had 11 points and went 3-of-5 from 3-point range in the first quarter. Five Iowa players reached double digits in the team-wide effort.

Jan. 5: Iowa 103, Rutgers 69 — 29 points (3,218 career points)

Clark secured her 14th career triple-double with a 10th rebound in the fourth quarter before her exit to a loud ovation at a sold-out Jersey Mike's Arena in New Jersey. She had 29 points and 10 assists.

Jan. 2: Iowa 76, Michigan State 73 — 40 points (3,189 career points)

Clark’s buzzer-beating logo 3-pointer secured a Big Ten victory for the Hawkeyes and gave her 40 points on the night. It was her fourth consecutive game of at least 35 points, tied for the longest streak over the past 25 years. She pulled within 100 points of Griner for fourth place.

Dec. 30: Iowa 94, Minnesota 71 — Her 35 points moved her into fifth on the list, passing Drake’s Lorri Bauman (3,115) and Mississippi Valley State’s Patricia Hoskins (3,122). Her 10 assists gave her the Big Ten career assists crown. And she became the first Division I player (men’s or women’s) to have at least 3,000 points, 900 assists and 800 rebounds in her career.

Dec. 21: Iowa 98, Loyola Chicago 69 — Clark’s 35 points, 17 rebounds (a career high) and 10 assists were the 13th triple-double of her career.

Dec. 16: Iowa 104, Cleveland State 75 — Clark scored 38 points, shot 61.9% (13-of-21) and hit a season–high nine 3s on 16 attempts.

Dec. 10: Iowa 87, Wisconsin 65 — Clark entered the contest needing 27 points to break into the scoring list top-10. She scored 28 to pass USC’s Cheryl Miller (3,018), Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw (3,025), UConn’s Maya Moore (3,036) and Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne (3,039).

She started the season outside the top 25 with 2,717 points and against Iowa State on Dec. 6 became the 15th player in Division I women’s history to reach 3,000 points. She was the second-fastest to the mark, and the quickest in the past 25 years. It was the 110th game of her career.

Remainder of Iowa’s regular season schedule
Feb. 22: at Indiana (Peacock, 8 p.m. ET)
Feb. 25: vs. Illinois (FS1 1 p.m. ET)
Feb. 28: at Minnesota (Peacock, 9 p.m. ET)
March 3: vs. Ohio State (FOX 1 p.m. ET)
March 6-10: Big Ten Tournament

What scoring records can Caitlin Clark set?

More NCAA Division I career marks are also a possibility, including scoring average, points in a season, 3-pointers and assists.

Hoskins holds the career scoring average record of 28.4 ppg from 1986-89. Clark’s career average is 27.7 ppg. Her 31.5 ppg this season currently places her in the top five for a single-season scoring average and trails Hoskins’ record mark of 33.6 ppg set in 1989.

Plum holds the record for most points in a season with 1,109, which she set over 35 games as a senior. Clark scored 1,055 points as a junior and at her record-setting pace of around 30 ppg, could reach the four-digit threshold by the end of the 30-game regular season.

Stiles (1,062), Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist (1,081) Baylor’s Odyssey Sims (1,054) and Iowa’s Megan Gustafson (1,001) are the only other players to crack quadruple digits in a season.

Kelsey Mitchell set the career 3-point record at Ohio State from 2015-18 with 497 on 1,286 attempts (38.6%). Idaho’s Taylor Pierce holds the season 3-point record with 154 in 2019 (on 389 attempts). Clark came close to it as a junior with 140 shooting 38.9% and has 423 career 3s on 1,109 attempts (38.1%).

Though she’s dishing out slightly fewer assists this season, Clark will soon break into the top-10 all-time. She has 909 through Jan. 2, trailing the 921 by La’Terrica Dobin (Northwestern State). Suzie McConnell holds the record with 1,307 at Penn State.

Caitlin Clark by the numbers

Updated as of Feb. 4

20 — point threshold she's hit every game this season

1 — Time she scored in single digits (8 vs. Northwestern in her 10th collegiate game)

15 — Number of times in 123 career games she’s scored fewer than 20 points

10 — Games with at least 35 points, 10 assists (the rest of Division I over the past 25 seasons has combined for 10 such games)

15 — Triple-doubles, trailing leader Sabrina Ionescu (26) for Oregon

11 — 40-plus-point performances

50 — Performances of at least 30 points, a D-I men’s and women’s record

25 — Big Ten Player of the Week honors, a record. The previous all-time record was 23 set by Iowa forward and 2019 Naismith winner Megan Gustafson.

40% — Of her points have come from beyond the arc