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Iowa's Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA scoring record
Iowa women's basketball star Caitlin Clark is now the NCAA's all-time scoring leader, breaking the record in Sunday's game against Ohio State.
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa star Caitlin Clark became the all-time NCAA Division I scoring leader on Sunday, breaking the late Pete Maravich’s 54-year-old record when she made two free throws after a technical foul was called in the No. 6 Hawkeyes’ game against No. 2 Ohio State.
Clark entered the game in Iowa City needing 18 points to pass Maravich’s total of 3,667, amassed in just 83 games over three seasons at LSU (1967-70).
Maravich’s record fell four days after Clark broke Lynette Woodard’s major college women’s record with 33 points against Minnesota on Wednesday.
Clark’s record-setting points Sunday came in improbable fashion. Best known for her long 3-point shots, she instead went past Maravich after Ohio State was called for a technical foul with less than a second to go in the first half.
Clark swished both free throws to run her career total to 3,668 points; she had no immediate reaction after the second shot went through, as if it hadn't sunk in yet.
Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates after breaking Pete Maravichs all-time NCAA scoring record during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 3, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Ho …
Clark needed to score 18 points against the Buckeyes to pass Pete Maravich’s total of 3,617 points, according to The Associated Press. Maravich has held the record since 1970. The new record would come four days after she broke former Kansas star Lynette Woodard’s major scoring record, and just weeks after the standout broke the NCAA women's career scoring record in Iowa’s game against Michigan.
It came three days after Clark announced she’s entering the 2024 WNBA draft and will skip her fifth year of NCAA eligibility offered to athletes who played during the pandemic. She’s expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever, and the AP reports the WNBA is already seeing a rise in ticket sales.
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Clark has 54 games with at least 30 points, most of any player in men's or women's college basketball over the last 25 years. She has six triple-doubles this season and 17 in her career.
READ MORE: LSU’s Reese unapologetic over gestures to Iowa’s Clark at NCAA championship
She’s 411 points behind Pearl Moore’s overall college scoring record, with 4,061 points from 1975-79 at the small-college level in the AIAW.
Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes warms up prior to the start of the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena on February 28, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
"You either love her or you hate her, but you normally hate her because of how hard she competes," Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for somebody who is that competitive and has never met a shot she didn’t like."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.