Caitlin Clark passes Brittney Griner for fourth on NCAA all-time scoring leaderboard in 96-50 blowout win
By Sam Joseph, CNN
(CNN) — Iowa’s Caitlin Clark continues to rack up the milestones as she moved into fourth on the all-time NCAA Division I women’s basketball scoring leaderboard.
The reigning consensus national player of the year dropped 32 points in a 96-50 blowout win against the Wisconsin Badgers on Wednesday as she passed WNBA legend Brittney Griner in the record books.
Clark now has 3,306 career points, per Bleacher Report, taking her past Griner’s total of 3,283 that she scored at Baylor University between 2009 and 2013.
Kate Martin also posted 16 points and five rebounds as Iowa totally controlled the game, outscoring Wisconsin in every quarter and shooting 40.5% from behind the arc. They were also dominant on the defensive end, holding the Badgers to 31.5% shooting from the field. Serah Williams led the way for Wisconsin with 19 points.
“I was really happy with our defense in this game,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said after the game. “We forced 28 turnovers in this game. Seventeen steals and we held them to 20 points in the second half. Caitlin becomes the fourth in all-time leader scorers, Syd (Sydney Affolter) just works hard time and time again and Kate Martin just continues to play like a pro.”
Clark also had seven rebounds, five assists and four steals while making six triples and all 10 of her free throws as she continues to establish herself as one of the best college players ever.
In her senior year, Clark is leading the nation with 30.9 points per game and Kelsey Plum’s all-time women’s college basketball scoring record of 3,527 is now a tangible target.
Clark is heavily tipped to be selected first overall by the Indiana Fever if she chooses to enter the 2024 WNBA draft, though she has a remaining year of college eligibility due to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on prior NCAA seasons.
Her performances have been credited with increasing the popularity of women’s college basketball. Iowa sold out all of its season tickets for the 2023/24 campaign in August.
“It’s just hard for me to wrap my head around,” Clark said postgame when asked about her impact on the sport. “I’m just trying to stay in the moment and enjoy every single second of it. We understand how special and cool it is – what we’re doing for the game and for the state of Iowa and really for people around the country.
“It just shows how much the women’s game is starting to grow and how many people are starting to fall in love with it, especially our team.”
Clark and Iowa will be looking to end the season by claiming the one thing missing from their résumé: a national championship.
The Hawkeyes were defeated in last year’s championship game by Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers, but are now 18-1 on the current season as they seek to go one better this year.
The-CNN-Wire
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