Caitlin Clark has officially established herself as the all-time leading scorer for the Iowa Hawkeyes. On Sunday, Clark broke the previous record of 2,804 points set by Megan Gustafson in 2019.
The history-making moment happened at a sold-out McLeod Center during the third quarter against Northern Iowa. Clark tied the record on the free throw line less than two minutes after the break. She broke it a few minutes later with a spin and a bank shot.
That’s the record breaker. Caitlin Clark is Iowa’s all time leading scorer, passing Megan Gustafson. pic.twitter.com/o99yszgvcq
— Mark Woodley (@MarkWoodleyTV) November 12, 2023
Iowa’s new 𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐫. @CaitlinClark22 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/bM64Bwu3Qk
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) November 12, 2023
The NCAA women's basketball all-time record still belongs to WNBA star Kelsey Plum with 3,527 points during her time in Washington.
Iowa was last season's top offensive team in Division I college women's basketball with Clark being the second most consistent scorer in the nation by averaging 27.8 points per game via 47.3% shooting from the field. This season, the 6-foot guard continued that momentum and tipped off her senior season with 28 points against FDU and 44 points against No. 8 Virginia Tech.
Clark's potential has been quite clear for a while, and even Gustafson herself said she saw this new record coming years ago.
"As soon as I saw her play as a freshman, I thought, 'Yeah, this record isn't going to last long at all,'" she said in March, as reported by The Gazette. "I love it."
Iowa made it to the program's first-ever championship game last season, and Clark was the biggest key to success. She put up historic numbers during the NCAA Tournament, including the first 40-point triple-double in the tournament -- men's or women's.
