Caitlin Clark had a game-high 35 points on her way to an unprecedented achievement as her Iowa Hawkeyes took down their in-state rivals, the Iowa State Cyclones, 67-58 on Wednesday.
The reigning consensus national player of the year registered her 3,000th career point on the night, making her the 15th player in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history to accomplish the feat.
Clark’s scoring outburst also meant that she entered uncharted territory. She is the only player in Division I men’s or women’s basketball history with 3,000+ points, 750+ rebounds and 750+ assists.
The 21-year-old also had nine rebounds and five assists on the night, and she hailed her coach, Lisa Bluder, for putting her in the position to attain the milestone.
“She lets me be me and that’s all you can ask for a coach, but she supports me more as a person and my teammates let me thrive,” Clark said on ESPN after the game. “We have the best fans in the world, and I’m just lucky.” I consider myself quite fortunate.
“I’m trying to soak in every single second and do whatever I can to put a smile on people’s faces.”
Clark, an Iowa native, now has 3,013 points in her college career and sits 514 points behind Kelsey Plum’s NCAA women’s record of 3,527. Clark might break the record this season if she continues her red-hot scoring pace of 29.6 points per game.
The All-American also made six three-pointers during a game that was tight throughout. There were 12 lead changes in the matchup and nine ties.
The sides entered the half-time break locked at 34-34 in a heated battle between the two state rivals. Iowa led 48-45 after a third quarter in which Clark scored all 14 of its points.
The Cyclones went on an 8-0 run in the fourth to snatch a late lead but saw the win slip away when they were outscored by the Hawkeyes 13-3 in the final four minutes of the game.
“We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game,” Iowa coach Bruce Bluder remarked after the game. “They slowed the ball down and did a good job of it, but our defence was really good in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter after they took the lead.” We talked about three-point defence at halftime, and they didn’t make a single one in the second half.”
The fourth-ranked Hawkeyes have a 9-1 record after a hot start to the season, while the Cyclones are 4-4.
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