On Thursday night, in a jam-packed gym in Iowa, 22-year-old Caitlin Clark made history. About two minutes into the basketball game against the University of Michigan Wolverines, the six-foot-tall Hawkeyes point guard hit the 3,528th point of her college career, making her the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball.
Clark’s long three-pointer surpassed the 3,527-point record set by University of Washington guard Kelsey Plum in 2017. During the game, Clark also broke the record she set earlier this season by scoring a total 49 points (46 percent of the team’s total) in the game. That’s the most any Iowa player has scored in a single game. As the crowd cheered her on and celebrities and athletes congratulated her on social media, Clark’s teammates picked her up and carried her on their shoulders to celebrate.
Clark’s ability to shoot successfully from just about anywhere on the court while also being a team player who assists her teammates has made her a star in the league. There’s also the “Caitlin Clark Effect”: According to NPR, every away game the Hawkeyes have played this season has been sold-out and other universities have set attendance records when the Hawkeyes have come to town — highs that have been attributed to Clark’s presence. And “Clarkmania” has seen people spending thousands of dollars to attend college basketball games. Clark has even developed a legion of fans who travel hundreds of miles to see her play.
Louisiana State University star Angel Reese — who famously competed against Clark last year — congratulated her on breaking the record, writing, “Congratulations @CaitlinClark22 KEEP BREAKING RECORDS & MAKING HER-STORY!” on X (formerly Twitter). Clark, who rarely gets emotional while playing, teared up as a congratulatory message played on the big screen on Thursday night.