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More scoring records are in sight, but Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark wants focus on team

More scoring records are in sight, but Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark wants focus on team
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More scoring records are in sight, but Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark wants focus on team
More scoring records are in sight for Caitlin Clark, but right now the Iowa superstar is looking forward to a break from the chase.She passed Kelsey Plum as the NCAA women's career scoring leader Thursday night, putting up a school-record 49 points in a 106-89 victory over Michigan and running her career total to 3,569.Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said it was a relief to have Clark's pursuit of the NCAA record end."It's been a little bit of a distraction, but a good distraction, right?" Bluder said. "You want these kinds of distractions for your team. But at the same time, it's time now for us to really focus on making our team better and getting ready for Indiana next week, the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament."With Clark having become the face of college basketball, the spotlight has been on the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes for a year.They reached the national championship game for the first time, losing to LSU in a game that set a television viewership record of nearly 10 million and is remembered for the "you can't see me" gesture Angel Reese made toward Clark.The Hawkeyes drew national attention again in October when they played DePaul in an exhibition at Kinnick Stadium that drew 55,646, the largest crowd to ever watch a women's basketball game.And from the start of the regular season, Clark's progress toward the NCAA scoring record turned into the narrative."Obviously, getting this record is tremendous and it has to be celebrated," she said. "There are so many people who have come before me and laid such a great foundation for women's basketball, and that has to be celebrated, too."We're really getting into the best part of basketball season. These are the times when your team really shows who you are, and I believe coach Bluder always has us playing our best basketball at the end of February and in March."History made: Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA women's scoring recordWhen the Hawkeyes play at Indiana next Thursday, Clark will be 80 points away from Lynette Woodard's major college basketball women's record of 3,649 for Kansas from 1977-81. The NCAA doesn't recognize that record because it was set when the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women governed women's college sports.Assuming Clark breaks Woodard's record, she will be within striking distance of the overall NCAA mark held by LSU's Pete Maravich, who finished his career with 3,667 points. He amassed his points in only three seasons (1967-70) because freshmen of his era weren't allowed to play on varsity teams.Woodard and Maravich set their records when there was no 3-point shot in college basketball.Francis Marion's Pearl Moore has the overall record with 4,061 points from 1975-79 at the small-college level in the AIAW. Moore had 177 of her points at Anderson Junior College before enrolling at Francis Marion.When Stanford's Tara VanDerveer became the all-time wins leader last month, the NCAA recognized her AIAW wins in the total. The NCAA said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal that it counts pre-NCAA coaching wins in career totals if the career extended into the NCAA era. For players, the NCAA counts a player's statistics from a non-NCAA school if the player ends up spending at least two of three years in the NCAA.Bluder said the suggestion that Woodard's points should be counted by the NCAA was "probably a really valid point.""We played basketball before the NCAA," she said, "so I don't know why we have this, NCAA records. I think that makes really good sense."NCAA women's basketball career scoring leaders*Caitlin Clark, Iowa — 3,617Kelsey Plum, Washington — 3,527Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State — 3,402Jackie Stiles, Missouri State — 3,393Brittney Griner, Baylor — 3,283*Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo/Syracuse — 3,269Patricia Hoskins, Mississippi Valley State — 3,122Lorri Bauman, Drake — 3,115Jerica Coley, FIU — 3,107Rachel Banham, Minnesota — 3,093* — Clark and Fair are active players. List updated as of Feb. 28.More Caitlin Clark coverageCaitlin Clark videosHere's what Patrick Mahomes said when asked about Caitlin Clark during a Super Bowl news conferenceCaitlin Clark discusses her legacy at a press conference after NCAA title gameIowa’s Caitlin Clark named Naismith National Player of the YearCaitlin Clark's dad, high school coach reflect on her early basketball careerCaitlin Clark gifts Iowa girl with signed shoes

More scoring records are in sight for Caitlin Clark, but right now the Iowa superstar is looking forward to a break from the chase.

She passed Kelsey Plum as the NCAA women's career scoring leader Thursday night, putting up a school-record 49 points in a 106-89 victory over Michigan and running her career total to 3,569.

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Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said it was a relief to have Clark's pursuit of the NCAA record end.

"It's been a little bit of a distraction, but a good distraction, right?" Bluder said. "You want these kinds of distractions for your team. But at the same time, it's time now for us to really focus on making our team better and getting ready for Indiana next week, the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament."

With Clark having become the face of college basketball, the spotlight has been on the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes for a year.

They reached the national championship game for the first time, losing to LSU in a game that set a television viewership record of nearly 10 million and is remembered for the "you can't see me" gesture Angel Reese made toward Clark.

The Hawkeyes drew national attention again in October when they played DePaul in an exhibition at Kinnick Stadium that drew 55,646, the largest crowd to ever watch a women's basketball game.

And from the start of the regular season, Clark's progress toward the NCAA scoring record turned into the narrative.

"Obviously, getting this record is tremendous and it has to be celebrated," she said. "There are so many people who have come before me and laid such a great foundation for women's basketball, and that has to be celebrated, too.

"We're really getting into the best part of basketball season. These are the times when your team really shows who you are, and I believe coach Bluder always has us playing our best basketball at the end of February and in March."

History made: Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA women's scoring record

When the Hawkeyes play at Indiana next Thursday, Clark will be 80 points away from Lynette Woodard's major college basketball women's record of 3,649 for Kansas from 1977-81. The NCAA doesn't recognize that record because it was set when the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women governed women's college sports.

Assuming Clark breaks Woodard's record, she will be within striking distance of the overall NCAA mark held by LSU's Pete Maravich, who finished his career with 3,667 points. He amassed his points in only three seasons (1967-70) because freshmen of his era weren't allowed to play on varsity teams.

Woodard and Maravich set their records when there was no 3-point shot in college basketball.

Francis Marion's Pearl Moore has the overall record with 4,061 points from 1975-79 at the small-college level in the AIAW. Moore had 177 of her points at Anderson Junior College before enrolling at Francis Marion.

When Stanford's Tara VanDerveer became the all-time wins leader last month, the NCAA recognized her AIAW wins in the total. The NCAA said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal that it counts pre-NCAA coaching wins in career totals if the career extended into the NCAA era. For players, the NCAA counts a player's statistics from a non-NCAA school if the player ends up spending at least two of three years in the NCAA.

Bluder said the suggestion that Woodard's points should be counted by the NCAA was "probably a really valid point."

"We played basketball before the NCAA," she said, "so I don't know why we have this, NCAA records. I think that makes really good sense."

NCAA women's basketball career scoring leaders

  1. *Caitlin Clark, Iowa — 3,617
  2. Kelsey Plum, Washington — 3,527
  3. Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State — 3,402
  4. Jackie Stiles, Missouri State — 3,393
  5. Brittney Griner, Baylor — 3,283
  6. *Dyaisha Fair, Buffalo/Syracuse — 3,269
  7. Patricia Hoskins, Mississippi Valley State — 3,122
  8. Lorri Bauman, Drake — 3,115
  9. Jerica Coley, FIU — 3,107
  10. Rachel Banham, Minnesota — 3,093

* — Clark and Fair are active players. List updated as of Feb. 28.

More Caitlin Clark coverage

Caitlin Clark videos

Here's what Patrick Mahomes said when asked about Caitlin Clark during a Super Bowl news conference

Caitlin Clark discusses her legacy at a press conference after NCAA title game

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark named Naismith National Player of the Year

Caitlin Clark's dad, high school coach reflect on her early basketball career

Caitlin Clark gifts Iowa girl with signed shoes