Young Iowa State fans are doing their best Caitlin Clark impression
Kaitlyn Clarke's fans are doing their best impression of the basketball star Hawkeye!
Well, that didn't take long.
With – what else? – Logo 3 just 132 seconds into the game against Michigan on Thursday, Caitlin Clark, the senior from Iowa State, has surpassed former Washington All-American Kelsey Bloom to move into first place in the NCAA record book. And the game is not over yet.
So what's next for Clark?
She is on pace to break Pete Maravich's record of 3,667 points, set from 1967-70 when he played at LSU, at Iowa State's regular-season finale. But the record that may matter most to women's basketball historians and junkies is 3,649. That's the number of points Wichita native Lynette Woodard scored when she played at Kansas from 1977 to 1981. That was before the NCAA ran the sport University for women Woodard's record is in the AIWA record books Instead of the NCAA record books.
Clarke's superiority over Woodard and Maravich should calm anyone complaining about the illegality of Clarke's record. Considering how many games she has left this season, Clarke could set a scoring mark so high, no one can even come close to reaching it.
Follow along as USA TODAY Sports delivers updates, scores, features, analysis and more.
-Lindsey Schnell
Whew. Is anyone tired?
Caitlin Clark certainly isn't.
After breaking the NCAA scoring record just two minutes into the game, Clark continued her hot streak, scoring an impressive 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting — including 5-of-7 from 3 — in the first quarter.
Clark's career high is 46. Is she about to get over it?
Behind Clark, Iowa State is shooting 75% from the field. Michigan is at 59%… Will this game hold many records?
Of course Caitlin Clark broke the record with 3 logos.
Clark's second 3-pointer of the game, with 7:43 remaining in the first quarter, sparked chaos in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Her mother placed her hands on her head, and her father and siblings clapped and exchanged high-fives.
The game didn't stop immediately — Clarke said earlier this week she hoped it wouldn't “We can't waste timeouts on that.” But after Michigan missed a shot at the other end, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder called a timeout so the crowd could recognize Clark's accomplishment. She smiled as her teammates hugged her and congratulated her, and buried her head in Bluder's shoulder.
“With 3,528 career points, she officially broke Kelsey Bloom's record,” the public address announcer said, sending the arena into a frenzy once again. “Let's hear it again for Number 22, Kaitlyn Clarke!”
Clarke said earlier this week that she was not nervous approaching the record but excited.
“Go out there and play basketball and have a good time, that's what comes with it,” she said. “I understand how big this is, but it's kind of related to what my four years have been through.”
-Nancy Armour
Iowa vs. Michigan at 8pm ET and can be streamed on Peacock.
When Kaitlyn Clark opened her college career by scoring 27 points against Northern Iowa on Nov. 25, 2020, it turned out to be a glimpse of what was to come. The Des Moines native has averaged 28.2 points over four incredible seasons, putting her in position to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA college basketball history.
“She's not just a high-powered scoring machine, she's a very well-rounded player,” Big Ten Network senior analyst Christy Winters-Scott said.
USA TODAY Sports spoke to Steph Curry, Maya Moore, Kim Mulkey, Gus Johnson and others about what makes Iowa State's Caitlin Clark so special. -Lindsey Schnell
At least the NFL gave us a demo of how to find tonight's game!
NBC showed the Wild Card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins on Peacock last month, amid much outrage from NFL fans. But as NBC tries to lure consumers to its streaming platform, especially ahead of the Paris Olympics this summer, where most of Peacock's coverage will be, it needs some big games to attract them.
And it couldn't get any bigger than Kaitlyn Clark breaking Kelsey Bloom's all-time NCAA women's scoring record.
For example, here's my go-to-gym line tonight:
-Nancy Armour
Is history about to repeat itself?
Last season, as No. 2 seeds, both Iowa and Clark reached the promised land of college basketball, eventually falling to LSU in the national championship.
Thursday, about 90 minutes before Iowa swings against Michigan, the The NCAA selection committee has revealed its first 16 rankings Iowa State is ranked fifth overall, meaning the Hawkeyes would be the No. 2 seed if the NCAA bracket comes out tomorrow.
last year, Iowa State was the No. 2 seed in its region; Stanford was the top seed, but was upset at home in the round of 32. Iowa State ended up beating fifth-seeded Louisville in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four.
Demand to see Caitlin Clark this season has been high, but with her quest to set the NCAA women's all-time record on Thursday, ticket prices to see the historic accomplishment have reached near-record levels.
Tickets to see No. 4 Iowa Hosts Michigan On Thursday night, the average purchase price is $387, the second most expensive women's basketball game of all time – college or WNBA – According to TickPick. But the average purchase price last week was $521, showing how high demand is as Clark approaches the record.
The entry price for the game is $426 as of Tuesday afternoon. on StubHubstadium tickets can be purchased for $13,669 each including fees. — Jordan Mendoza
Iowa State's Kaitlyn Clark fell just eight points short of the women's NCAA record on Sunday afternoon, as the Hokies were upset by Nebraska 82-79.
The 22-year-old phenom is averaging 32.1 points this season, but has produced nearly 34 points in her last five games. At that pace, Clark could pass Kelsey Bloom's mark of 3,527 career points in the first quarter on Thursday.
Why all this excitement? The Hawkeye phenom's mark on all of NCAA basketball could finally be bigger. It is 147 points behind Pete Maravich's record, which has stood for five decades. — Jim Sergeant
What was Kaitlyn Clark's highest-scoring match?
Clark's highest-scoring game came when she scored 45 points over Ohio State on January 21. Clark went 12-for-25, including 7-for-18 from 3. She also had three rebounds and seven assists in the Loss 100-92.
See how many other college players have scored over 3,000 points here.
One of the most impressive parts of Clarke's rise to the top of the scoring mountain is how she has scored more goals each season, despite the interference of every opposing team. Here's a detailed look at how much points Clark scored each season, and exactly how she did it.
Iowa State's schedule for the rest of the season:
- Thursday, February 22nd at Indiana, 8pm ET at Peacock
- Sunday, February 25 vs. Illinois, 1 PM ET on FS1
- Wednesday, February 28 in Minnesota, 9 PM ET in Peacock
- Sunday, March 3 vs. Ohio State, 1pm on Fox
- March 6-10, Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis, times and TV vary
Yes…but she could come back next year and be a senior if she wanted to. in spite of He is projected to be the No. 1 pick In the 2024 WNBA Draft, she could return to Iowa City next season. Since Clark was a freshman in the 2020-21 season, she had a COVID year (basically, that season didn't count toward anyone's eligibility).
Clark is 6 feet tall. Big guards have become more common in women's basketball in the last decade or so, and Clark's size certainly helps her as she is able to see defenders on the break and get vertical distance when she steps up to shoot. It should also be noted that Clarke worked hard last summer to Put on eight pounds of muscle This has made a huge difference in her game, especially when she drives to the rim.
