Dawn Staley on Caitlin Clark hitting scoring record: 'No suspense, right?'

Caitlin Clark entered Iowa’s Thursday night game against Michigan eight points away from surpassing Kelsey Plum’s all-time NCAA scoring record. Clark dropped 23 points in the first quarter. After South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley heard the news, she only had three words.

“No suspense, right?” Staley said with a smile.

Staley knows about Clark’s talent all too well. The Iowa standout exploded for 41 points, six rebounds and eight assists to knock South Carolina out of the NCAA Tournament last season. She hasn’t slowed down this season.

Clark is averaging 32.2 points and 8.5 assists per game this season, the most in the country in both categories. Additionally, Clark is averaging 6.9 rebounds while shooting 39.9% from beyond the arc.

Clark not only set the NCAA’s all-time scoring record on Thursday evening, but she also shattered Iowa’s program record for points in a single game. In the win, Clark tallied 49 points, five rebounds and 13 assists while shooting 16-31 from the field and 9-18 from downtown.

Clark broke the all-time scoring record with a bomb from just a step in front of the half-court logo. After the game, the 6-foot guard pulled back the curtain on the historic moment.

“Just to do it in this fashion? I’m very grateful,” said Clark. “I’m very thankful to be surrounded by so many people that have kind of been my foundation in everything that I’ve done since I was a young little girl.

“I started crying when watching that video. Just because, like, I’m just filled with so much gratitude and love,” Clark said. “The way that these fans support women’s basketball is so special.”

Caitlin Clark thankful for Iowa fanbase

After the game, Clark stuck around on the court for an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. However, before Rowe could get out a word, Iowa fans showered Clark with a consistent chant: “One more year.” Clark is thankful for the Hawkeye faithful.

“It’s pretty unreal,” Clark told Peacock’s Caroline Pineda after the game. “This crowd’s unreal. I’m just really grateful, honestly, to be able to be here and make so many of my dreams come true with so many amazing people that have supported me – whether it’s my coaches, my teammates, my family. I’m just filled with a lot of gratitude.

“It’s so special,” Clark said. “These fans deserve it. They’ve supported me since I stepped on campus. We had big dreams and big aspiration and we achieved a lot. But we’re not done. We’re still looking for a little more and I’m proud of our group. I thought we came out and battled well. Michigan played well. They made some tough shots but I thought we responded well and closed out the win.”