Caitlin Clark and No. 6 Iowa traveled to face Minnesota in a Big Ten showdown Wednesday night, and earned a 108-60 blowout victory for the Hawkeyes. It was another record-setting night for Clark. And it wasn't just about her padding her points total, but rather how she did it. (See: A LOT of 3s.)
Clark, who now holds the NCAA Division I women’s basketball all-time scoring record, came into Wednesday needing just 51 points to pass Pete Maravich. Who is Pistol Pete, you ask?
Maravich played for LSU from 1967-70, scoring 3,667 points in just three years. He did so at a time when freshmen could not play varsity basketball, there was no shot clock and no 3-point line.
Clark, who is nicknamed “Ponytail Pete," has one regular-season game remaining and needs just 18 points to top Maravich. The Hawkeyes will face No. 2 Ohio State in Iowa City on Sunday afternoon. While that is senior day, Clark has not said whether she will return for a possible fifth year – which she is eligible for because of the COVID season.
Tickets for that game are averaging more than $500.
OPINION:Caitlin Clark and her achievements stand on their own. Stop comparing her to Pistol Pete
Given how hot she started, we probably should have seen this coming: Caitlin Clark notched her 17th career triple-double in Iowa’s 108-60 win, tallying 33 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
It was merely one of a handful of records that Clark tallied Wednesday night in Iowa’s blowout win. Clark has officially scored more points that Lynette Woodard now, and hit more 3s in a single season than any other player.
Speaking of 3s, Iowa made a season-high 21 against Minnesota. Clark went 8-of-14 from long distance, but she was far from the only one feeling it. Gabbie Marshall (16 points, four 3s), Taylor McCabe (15 points, five 3s), Kylie Feuerbach (13 points, four 3s) and Molly Davis (11 points, one 3) all scored in double figures as well.
As Caitlin Clark has climbed up the scoring ladder this season, some have pointed out that while her scoring output is impressive, it doesn’t match former Kansas standout Lynette Woodard.
Now, it does. In fact, it passes it.
With a 3 with 4:29 to play, Clark surpassed the longtime scoring leader in major college women’s basketball, which Woodard set from 1978-81. That was before the NCAA ran women’s sports, so Woodard’s record has been confined to the AIAW record books. She’s said that the NCAA needs to recognize and incorporate scoring records from the AIAW days, especially because they already do exactly that with coaching records.
For many, Clark passing Woodard will legitimize Clark and all she’s done.
Iowa continues its absurd shooting from 3, hitting 16 with 10 minutes still to play. At this point I’m just waiting for post Hannah Stuelke to take an attempt from deep.
Meanwhile, Caitlin Clark has notched her second consecutive triple-double, and the 17th of her career. Through three quarters she has 30 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. She’s also an efficient 11-of-17 from the field, including 7-of-11 from 3.
Iowa is dominating in every facet of the game, from points in the paint (36-16) to bench points (28-9) to fast break points (30-1).
And we’ve still got a whole other quarter to go. This is not an ideal senior night for Minnesota, that’s for sure.
Ho-hum, another day, another milestone for Caitlin Clark.
This time, with her seventh 3 of the night — with 7:16 left to in the third, no less — Clark has set an NCAA single-season record for made 3s, with 155. She surpasses former Idaho standout Taylor Pierce, who hit 154 treys in the 2018-19 season.
It’s worth pointing out that the career 3-point record belongs to Taylor Robertson, the sharpshooter who played at Oklahoma from 2018-2023. She had 537 in her career. Clark now has 502. Might she catch Robertson?
It seems inevitable that Caitlin Clark is going to set a new career-high for made 3s in a single game. Her high is nine, she’s already got six and we have 20 more minutes left to play. Goodness.
She leads all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting overall. In the first quarter, she scored or assisted on 21 of Iowa’s 30 points.
But Clark’s far from the only person connecting from deep: As a team Iowa’s already hit 12 (12!) 3s, and is shooting 57% from the arc. Not bad at all. The Hawkeyes are pouring it on from Kylie Feuerbach has three and Gabbie Marshall has two. (Marshall, by the way, has officially hit 1,000 career points.)
For good measure, Clark also has six assists, including this nifty bounce pass to Marshall in the lane:
One good way to build a 14-point lead over the first period is to reel off multiple 9-0 runs. The first one was all Caitlin Clark (unsurprising!) and the second involved a few Hawkeyes. And that’s how Iowa has a 30-16 lead.
That, and Clark already tallying 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Not too shabby, especially after a few rough games the last couple weeks where Clark didn’t shoot very well. She scored 35 on the Golden Gophers last time. Does she top that tonight?
As a team, Iowa is shooting 61% — that’s not how you pull an upset, Minnesota. And Clark isn’t the only one with a hot hand: Kylie Feuerbach is also 2-of-3 from long-distance.
Iowa also leads in fast break points, 10-0. Right now, the Hawkeyes are scoring from anywhere they want.
Nothing like a little 9-0 run from the reigning national player of the year to open the game.
Caitlin Clark reeled off nine straight points — including a logo 3, of course — before Minnesota finally got on the board. Then Clark responded by … hitting another 3.
She’s 51 away from the record and logic would say she’ll break it Sunday on senior day when Iowa hosts Ohio State. But maybe Clark has other plans, given that she already has 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting. She’s also grabbed three rebounds already.
Seems like it’s gonna be a long night for the Golden Gophers.
The Hawkeyes (24-4, 13-3 Big Ten) travel to Williams Arena in Minneapolis to take on the Gophers (15-12, 5-11) on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. The game will be shown on the Peacock streaming service. Cindy Brunson will handle the play-by-play duties, with Julianna Viani as the analyst.
The Hawkeyes fell back to No. 6 after a loss to Indiana. After tonight's game in Minnesota, they have one regular-season game left, at home on senior day against No. 2 Ohio State.
The strain to call Caitlin Clark’s eventual 3,668th point a milestone or important moment for women’s sports is the kind of illogical nonsense that can only serve to create an unnecessary backlash, Dan Wolken writes.
Clark enters Wednesday's game with 3,617 career points, just 51 from passing Pete Maravich on the all-time scoring list. She is averaging 32.1 points per game this season and has two regular-season games remaining, plus Big Ten and NCAA tournament games.
Clark's highest-scoring game was also her record-breaking performance on Feb. 15 against Michigan in the 2023-24 season, when she scored 49 points. Clark shot 16-for-31 that game, including 9-for-18 from 3. She also grabbed five rebounds and handed out 13 assists in the 106-89 win.
Do you love Caitlin Clark or do you LOVE Caitlin Clark?
Love her, hate her, like her or think she’s overrated, one thing is for sure: The senior guard from Iowa has serious game. Not sure exactly where you stand? We can help you out. This USA TODAY Sports quiz will reveal the answer to a crucial question as we prep for March Madness: What kind of Caitlin Clark fan are you? — Lindsay Schnell
Here's a breakdown of Clark's scoring this season for the Hawkeyes:
Yes, Clark is a senior … but she could come back next year and be a super senior if she wants.
Though she’s projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, she could return to Iowa City next season. Because Clark was a freshman in the 2020-21 season, she has a COVID year (basically, that season didn’t count toward anyone’s eligibility).
The Greatest Show in Sports is humming along, barnstorming the nation, hitting logo threes and breaking records as February works its way to the madness of March, bringing us closer to the answer to two intriguing questions:
Will Caitlin Clark stay at Iowa for her fifth COVID year or will she go to the WNBA? And, is she going to represent the United States at the Olympics this summer in Paris?
The first question is totally in her control and all hers to answer. Does Clark, a fourth-year senior who gets a COVID year if she wants it, come back to Iowa to sink three-point shots and thread no-look passes and pack arenas around the Big Ten and the nation, which will be basically one and the same by the time the 2024-25 season begins? Or does she go to the WNBA, where she will be the No. 1 pick in the draft and immediately become the best-known pro in the women’s game, even if there will be the inevitable learning curve playing with and against the best players in the world?— Christine Brennan
Follow Lindsay Schnell on social media @Lindsay_Schnell
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