During Caitlin Clark’s three-plus seasons at Iowa, she has frequently run toward and past whatever is in front of her. Often, that means bypassing defenders on the way to layups at the rim. At times, she runs around screens and away from opponents to create space for catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. Since the start of the season, Clark has had her eye on chasing former Washington star Kelsey Plum’s NCAA women’s basketball scoring record of 3,527 points. “(She) came ready to take him down,” Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder told the Big Ten Network last week. “This has not been a burden for her.”
Before Thursday’s game between Iowa and Michigan, Clark had averaged a national-leading 33.8 points in his last five games. The story didn’t seem to bother him.
Time and time again, when Clark bested his opponents on the court and his contemporaries in the record book, he rose from No. 3 and rose to the occasion. When she became NCAA women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer Thursday, she did so in a 49-point outing, setting a new career high and an Iowa record in the process. Now, holding the NCAA scoring title with 3,569 points, her quest to the top will be remembered for her absolute dominance and unmatched consistency. “What she has done to improve our program and women’s basketball nationally is spectacular,” Bluder said after the Hawkeyes’ 106-89 victory.
During Clark’s first season, his three-point shooting prowess was immediately evident. In 30 games, she took 116 shots from behind the arc, more than twice as many as any of his teammates. According to CBB Analytics, Clark also made 22 more three-pointers over the break in the 2020-21 season than any other player in the country, shooting nearly half of his field goal attempts from that distance.
Playing in a fast-paced system, Clark has been encouraged to shoot whenever and from wherever she feels comfortable. In each of the last three seasons, she has made more than 30 percent of Iowa’s total shot attempts. By comparison, her teammates among the top five career scorers, Kelsey Mitchell and Brittney Griner, made about 26 percent. percent of his team’s shots during his senior seasons. Last year’s Big Ten’s second-leading scorer (behind Clark), Mackenzie Holmes, made just 21.6 percent of Indiana’s total field goal attempts.
Clark’s success from deep has been instrumental to his success. Of the other four players in the NCAA’s top five, only Mitchell (2014-18) totaled more points than 3. However, Clark’s point total, like Plum’s, reflects a balanced repertoire. The 6-foot guard from Iowa has recorded nearly 40 percent of his scoring from 2 and just over 40 percent from behind the arc.
Clark is a threat virtually anywhere on the court. Keep in mind that she entered Thursday as a pro shooter with a 42.4 percent 3-point clip from the right wing (the national average from there last season was 30.6 percent, according to CBB Analytics), while also shooting nearly 40 percent on 3-pointers from the left baseline, just under 10 percent above the national average in 2023. Even around the rim, she’s more prolific than her peers, shooting 66.1 percent for her career heading into Iowa’s most recent win, compared to 57.1 percent in Division I a year ago. “Almost everyone wants to talk about her long-distance shot,” assistant coach Abby Stamp said. “We’re a little more well-rounded in the way we look at her game.”
Aside from Clark’s basketball production, the second-highest percentage of his points come from left wing. He often creates space from there for his defenders with slanted back threes.
As Clark’s career progressed, his play generated fervor. According to Vivid Seats, the average ticket price for Iowa road games this season is nearly $108. Of the Hawkeyes’ 32 regular-season games this season, 30 are sold out or have set arena attendance records for women’s basketball; the only exceptions were Iowa’s neutral games in a Thanksgiving tournament.
Although Clark has seemingly lit up every foe he’s faced (only once in his 126 career games has he scored fewer than 10 points), there’s no opponent he’s dominated like Nebraska. After last Sunday’s contest, in which he finished with 31 points, he scored 309 total points against the Cornhuskers, the most against a single foe. His success against conference contenders Indiana (226 points) and Ohio State (203 points) reinforces his greatness against the conference’s top competition. As expected, Clark also shined against Michigan, despite playing in only his fifth game against the Wolverines on Thursday. He entered the record-breaking contest averaging 34.8 points against the Wolverines, his highest per-game average against an opponent he has played at least three times. That average only increased with his score of 49 points.
Beyond the Big Ten schools, Clark has scored over 100 points against three other conferences. In particular, he has thrived against Missouri Valley Conference schools. Of his 325 career points against MVC opponents, 102 of them are against Northern Iowa. Clark scored 93 points at Drake, which is located in nearby Des Moines. Following a similar theme, the Big 12 opponent he has scored the most points against is Iowa State (114).
Stamp applauds Clark for his commitment to Iowa’s strength, nutrition and conditioning programs as often-overlooked keys to his success. “I think she deserves a lot of credit for how she accepted that and the way she treated her body and she really thinks of herself professionally,” Stamp said. Clark has remained durable and has never missed a game. She has also averaged at least 33 minutes per game each season. Coupled with her availability and her ability to play extended minutes, Clark has created an opportunity to earn much of what she has earned.
After Thursday’s game, 799 of Clark’s 1,171 field goals have been unassisted, and his teammates are credited with assists on only 372 baskets.
Considering the experience on Iowa’s roster, it’s not exactly surprising that sixth-year forward Kate Martin provided Clark with the most assists. Fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall has played four seasons with Clark and has found her defensive partner to be the second most open for shots.
Clark could take advantage of a COVID-19 eligibility rule and return to college for a fifth season. If he does so, he would create even greater distance with Plum and the rest of his peers, potentially creating an insurmountable margin for future generations to exploit. It took seven years before Clark and Plum set the record, but if Clark turns pro, it may not be long before he reaches a new standard. USC freshman guard JuJu Watkins averages 27.7 points per game, compared to Clark’s 26.6 average as a freshman. Could another record chase be on the horizon?
(Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; Data Images: Drew Jordan / The Athletic; Caitlin Clark Photos: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
