Iowa’s Caitlin Clark reaches 3,000 career points

AMES, Iowa — Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark became the 15th player in Division I women’s basketball history to reach 3,000 points for her career Wednesday night against Iowa State.

Clark finished the night with 35 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists as the No. 4 Hawkeyes won 67-58 to move to 9-1. She becomes the first player in Division I history, women’s or men’s, to record at least 3,000 points, 750 rebounds and 750 assists.

Asked by ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game how it feels to make history, Clark replied, «It’s pretty fun, Holly, especially when you’re here.»

Clark credited Iowa coach Lisa Bluder for «what she’s allowed me to do on this stage,» adding, «She lets me be me.»

Clark came into the game 22 points shy of the 3,000-point milestone — fitting for No. 22. She was playing at Hilton Coliseum, about 45 minutes from where she grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Clark, the reigning national player of the year, had 12 points in the first quarter but just three in the second. She eclipsed 3,000 points with a 3-pointer — her fifth of the game — with 6:11 left in the third quarter.

She would go on to score all of Iowa’s 14 points in the frame — the first time in her career she accounted for all of her team’s points in a single quarter. She also scored or assisted on 26 of the Hawkeyes’ 33 second-half points.

Wednesday marked the 41st time in her career that Clark finished with at least 30 points, extending her lead for most of any Division I player over the past 25 seasons.

The 6-foot senior guard reached 3,000 points in her 110th career game, the second fastest in Division I history behind Patricia Hoskins. Among the players to debut over the past 25 seasons, Clark is the fastest to 3,000.

It so happens the last player to reach 3,000 points was Iowa State’s Ashley Joens, who did so during the Big 12 tournament in March. Joens, who finished her career with 3,060 points, was an AAU teammate of Clark’s.

Clark, now at 3,013 points for her career, could pass Kelsey Plum as the all-time scoring leader in the NCAA era (since 1981-92) this season. Plum, who plays for the two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, recorded 3,527 points with Washington from 2013 to ’17 and is one of three active WNBA players to rank in the top five of the NCAA’s career scoring list, along with Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State, 3,042 points) and Phoenix’s Brittney Griner (Baylor, 3,283).

There are two players in the pre-NCAA era who scored more points than Plum: Francis Marion’s Pearl Moore (1975-79) with 3,884, and Kansas’ Lynette Woodard (1977-81) with 3,649.

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.