Wisconsin native Megan Gustafson congratulates Caitlin Clark on passing her Iowa scoring record

Wisconsin native Megan Gustafson, who just finished her fifth season in the WNBA, had kind words for Iowa phenom Caitlin Clark on Sunday after Clark bypassed Gustafson for the career scoring mark in program history.

"As soon as I watched you play as a freshman, I really did know, well my record's not going to last very long," Gustafson said in a video she posted to X.

"You've inspired so many kids, boys and girls, all over the world, all over the state of Iowa. You've made every single person to watch you so proud."

Clark registered the 12th double-double of her career in a 94-53 win over Northern Iowa on Sunday, with 24 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. The Hawkeyes elevated from No. 3 to No. 2 in the Associated Press poll after losses by LSU and UConn.

“Megan’s been our biggest fan on this whole journey,” Clark said. “Megan reached out to me last night and said, ‘You’re very, very deserving of this. Go out there and do it.’ It’s not the first time she’s reached out and texted me. She’s always there. And that’s not fake — Megan is one of the best people of all time.”

Clark left the game with 2,813 career points, passing Gustafson's 2,804 racked up from 2015 to 2019.

Clark was named national player of the year last year in leading Iowa to the NCAA championship game. Gustafson herself won national player of the year honors in 2019 and twice won Big Ten Player of the Year. The alumna of South Shore High School, in Bayfield County, remains Iowa's all-time leader in rebounds, with 1,460.

Gustafson, by far the all-time scorer in Wisconsin high-school history, was drafted by the Dallas Wings in the second round of the 2019 draft and spent two seasons with that franchise before playing with the Washington Mystics in 2021 and the Phoenix Mercury the past two seasons.

In 2023, Gustafson scored 7.9 points per game with 3.9 rebounds in a career-best 15.1 minutes per game.

The Wisconsin women will welcome Clark and Iowa to the Kohl Center in Madison on Dec. 10.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Caitlin Clark passes Wisconsin native Megan Gustafson at Iowa