Caitlin Clark’s historic evening propels No. 6 Iowa to a 108–60 victory at Minnesota.
MINNEAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark scored 33 points on Wednesday night to surpass Lynette Woodard and record her 17th career triple-double for sixth-ranked Iowa in a 108-60 victory over Minnesota, making her the all-time leading women’s scorer in major college basketball.
“Tonight, we just played freely and had a great time overall,” stated Clark, who in 2023–24 also broke the NCAA single-season record by making eight 3-pointers for a total of 156 points.
It is currently 3,650 points in Clark’s career. From 1977 to 1981, Woodard scored 3,649 points for Kansas before the NCAA approved the sport. Clark surpassed Kelsey Plum’s NCAA scoring record (3,527 points) earlier this month.
“This is the actual record night,” head coach Lisa Bluder declared.
For the Hawkeyes (25-4, 14-3), who were removed from the running for the Big Ten regular season title earlier in the evening when second-ranked Ohio State defeated Michigan, Gabbie Marshall scored 16 points to surpass the 1,000-point milestone in her career. Together, Iowa shot 22 for 39 from three-point range, which was both a record for the Hawkeyes program and the most 3-pointers Minnesota has ever given up.
In it, Clark had a major role in both distribution and filming. Ten rebounds and twelve assists were hers.
Clark remarked, “I think that more than anything is going to let us have a lot of success in March. I love passing the ball and setting my teammates up for success.” “It can’t always just be me.”
In a difficult night of trying to guard the AP Player of the Year, who shot 8 for 14 from 3-point range to excite the Hawkeyes-heavy crowd announced at Williams Arena’s official capacity of 14,625, Amaya Battle scored 18 points for the Gophers (15-13, 5-12). For Clark and her team, this was the 11th sellout in 11 genuine away games this season, and they tied forthe largest in Gophers program history at home.
With just 13 seconds remaining in the game, Clark dispelled any doubt that she would tie or surpass Woodard’s record with a dribble off a screen and a 3-pointer from the top of the key. She scored 15 points in the first 3:18 of the game after making her first four 3-pointers, three of which were from extra deep.
Halfway through the first quarter, the Minnesota student section sent out a halfhearted “Overrated!” cry, sparked by a flick from the top that rebounded off the back rim.
Clark passed up multiple chances to shoot in the second half in favor of finding her teammates, but she had five assists in the third quarter. Starting the fourth quarter, she just needed three points to overtake Woodard; but, as the minutes passed, the backups came off the bench and were prepared to play.
Bluder remarked, “I was going to let her get the record.”
Clark scored the record and made a swish with a 3-pointer from the wing with 4:16 remaining. Thirty seconds later, she was substituted.
10,869 people attended the Gophers’ previous home game versus Connecticut on November 19, which featured star Paige Bueckers, a Minnesota native. That is the only other Gophers home attendance statistic for 2023–2024 that is higher than 6,000.
Next up
Iowa: Sunday’s game at No. 2 Ohio State. If the Hawkeyes defeat the Buckeyes, they will be in a tie with Indiana for second place and will advance to the Big Ten tournament as the No. 2 seed, provided they defeat the Hoosiers in the tiebreaker. Indiana plays Maryland on Sunday to end the regular season.