One game removed from her worst performance of the season (and perhaps of her career), Caitlin Clark is back to breaking NCAA records.
During Iowa's 113-90 win against Drake University on Sunday, Clark — who scored 35 points in the game — set a new record for most 30-point games in Division I women's basketball, with 39.
The previous 30-point game record that Clark broke on Sunday was held by Kelsey Plum, who produced 38 such games during her time at the University of Washington from 2013 to 2017. Before Plum, WNBA (and NCAA) legend Elena Della Donne held this scoring record after amassing 37 30-point games during her four seasons at the University of Delaware, from 2009 to 2013.
Although Plum was only able to break Della Donne's record by one game, it appears that Clark will most likely blow Plum's previous record out of the water. Clark is averaging exactly 30 points per game this year, and Iowa still has 25 games left during the 2023-24 regular season (in addition to any postseason games) — not to mention that Clark could return for Iowa's 2024-25 season if she wanted to.
In fact, Clark could become the first woman to produce 40, 50 and perhaps even 60 30-point games in her NCAA career if she keeps up her current form. Regardless of how many 30-point games Clark will end up with, it's tough to imagine someone beating her eventual record anytime soon.
Clark's 39th 30-point outburst on Sunday is the second massive record she has broken in this past week alone. During Iowa's 94-53 win over Northern Iowa on Nov. 12, Clark broke the Hawkeyes' all-time scoring record of 2,804 points, set by Megan Gustafson in 2019. Plus, Clark producing her 12th career triple-double during that game (she finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists) groups her with current New York Liberty star guard Sabrina Ionescu as the only two players in women's college basketball history to have a triple-double in four separate seasons.
While Clark is technically eligible to return to Iowa for the 2024-25 season, the reigning national player of the year is almost certain to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft, where she'll most likely be the first overall pick — which is why we should appreciate Clark's collegiate greatness while she's still around. It could be a long time before we see such a prolific scorer in the NCAA again.
For now, let's see what other records Caitlin Clark can break at Iowa before her time there is up.
