Caitlin Clark reacts to becoming No. 2 all-time leading scorer in women's basketball
The Iowa women’s basketball team celebrated one of their most dominant wins of the season on Wednesday night defeating Northwestern 110-74 behind 35 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds from star player Caitlin Clark.
It was a historic night for the reigning national player of the year, who surpassed Ohio State‘s Kelsey Mitchell in the second quarter to become the No. 2 all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball history. A record that she admitted was not necessarily on her radar as a goal she wanted to achieve during her career.
“No, I did not. Honestly I didn’t even know at what point it occurred,” Clark said after the game. “I think the coolest thing is just the names that I get to be around. Those are people that I grew up watching, especially Kelsey Plum, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Mitchell.”
Clark’s 3,424 career points make her the NCAA’s second all-time leading scorer, placing her 104 points shy from surpassing former Washington All-American Kelsey Plum who notched 3,527 points in 2017 to take women’s college basketball’s scoring crown.
And with Clark averaging a nation-leading 32.1 points per game with eight games remaining in the regular season and an entire postseason of play ahead of the Hawkeyes, her becoming women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer seems inevitable. But she’s content with the elite company that her name is now synonymous with alone.
“Those are really, really great players. People that are still playing our game at the very highest level and people that you watch night in and night out. So just special for me to be in the same area as them,” Clark said.
Clark surpassing Mitchell also makes her the Big Ten Conference’s all-time leading scorer, adding to her lengthy list of accomplishments and accolades in her historic career that’s helped bring heightened attention to the sport overall and inspired young women across the nation.
But she also made sure to give recognition to her teammates and Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder for their roles in her record-setting run.
“And obviously I’ve played with a lot of really good teammates that have allowed me to do my thing, and Coach Bluder obviously,” Clark said sitting beside her head coach.
“It’s what she pitched to me when I got recruited four years ago is we play a fast, uptempo offense and you’re kind of going to have the ball in your hands. And she’s kind of let me thrive and be me, there’s not a lot of coaches out there that would probably allow that every single night. So I’m very thankful.”
Clark’s historic performance came in front of a sell-out crowd in Welsh-Ryan Arena in a road game for the Hawkeyes, something that has become common for Iowa who’s consistently set attendance records and sold out home and away games all season long.
Her name in the record books will forever be set in stone, but Caitlin Clark’s positive impact on women’s basketball overall is immeasurable and something that will forever be fondly looked upon in the history of the sport.