Caitlin Clark’s Magical Record-Setting Night in Iowa City [WATCH]
It was one of those 'remember where you were' moments for sports fans. Where were you when Caitlin Clark broke the NCAA women's all-time scoring record? Were you at Carver Hawkeye Arena? Were you watching at a bar with fellow Iowa fans? I was sitting on my couch with my 15 and 13-year-old daughters trying not to cry. Caitlin Clark seemingly broke all the records on Thursday night in Iowa City. Remember where you were.
Clark entered Thursday night's game against Michigan just 8 points shy of the NCAA record for most points scored in women's basketball history. It wouldn't take her long to make the record hers. As the Cedar Rapids Gazette points out, just two minutes and 12 seconds into the first quarter, Clark sank the bucket heard around the college basketball world. And of course...it was a logo three.
Iowa topped Michigan 106-89 and after the game, Clark told reporters that the record shot was just how she imagined it.
I don’t know if I could have scripted it any better. All I knew was that I was going to shoot a logo 3 for the record.
After the shot went in, you could almost detect a sense of relief from Clark as she ran down the court. The pressure was off. The record was finally hers.
During the next Iowa possession, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder called a timeout so that the fans could celebrate Clark as the new record holder. The Gazette reports that Bluder stated that the University of Iowa was the right place for the record to be broken. Bluder noted, "They’ve supported women’s basketball here for such a long time. Anything can happen here."
And it turns out Clark wasn't done setting records! She went on to score 49 points in the Iowa victory. It was a new career high and it broke the Carver Hawkeye Arena record of 47 points set by Hannah Stuelke earlier this season, and the all-time Iowa record of 48 points set by Megan Gustafson in 2018.
The Gazette reports that Clark set the record in her 126th career game. It took Kelsey Plum 139 games to reach that same total. After the Iowa victory, not a fan left their seat as the on-court celebration featured tribute videos and hugs from family, teammates, and coaches. Messages from celebrities like Billy Jean King, Tom Brady, and more continue to roll in on social media. And of course, there were chants of 'one more year' in Carver last night too.
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