Clark breaks mark, sets sights on titles
IOWA CITY, Iowa — 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 fourthranked 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.”
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 (196770) because freshmen of his era weren't allowed to play on varsity teams.
Woodard and Maravich set their records when there was no 3point shot in college basketball.
Francis Marion's Pearl Moore has the overall record with 4,061 points from 1975-79 at the smallcollege level in the AIAW. Moore had 177 of her points at Anderson Junior College before enrolling at Francis Marion.
VANDERBILT 49 TEXAS A&M 45
Khamil Pierre scored 11 points, the Commodores forced 20 turnovers in beating the host Aggies (18-6, 5-6 SEC), who were led by a stellar performance by Aicha Coulibaly. The senior guard logged a season-high 20 points on 8-of-14 (57.1%) shooting from the field.
Tineya Hylton registered career highs with seven rebounds and seven assists.
Janiah Barker added nine points and five rebounds. Sahara Jones pulled down a seasonbest nine rebounds to go with six points.
The defenses locked down in the first quarter with Vanderbilt holding an 11-9 advantage at the first intermission. The Commodores (19-7, 6-6 SEC) were up 9-2, but Janiah Barker's layup at the midway point sparked a Texas A&M surge.
The Aggies held Vanderbilt to 1-of-9 (11.1%) shooting from the field to close out the period.
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 66 TENNESSEE 55
Kamilla Cardoso had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the visiting Gamecocks past the upsetminded Lady Vols for their 24th straight win.
Cardoso had missed two previous games while playing for Brazil in an Olympic qualifying tournament. Ashlyn Watkins added 14 points and 10 rebounds for South Carolina (24-0, 11-0 SEC). Raven Johnson had 15 rebounds.
Rickea Jackson scored 19 points to pace Tennessee (15-9, 8-4). Sara Puckett added 15 points and Jasmine Powell scored 12.
NO. 6 N.C. STATE 59 NO. 16 NOTRE DAME 43
Madison Hayes scored 16 points as the visiting Wolfpack held the Fighting Irish to their lowest point total this season.
North Carolina State held Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, the No. 3 scorer in the nation, to a career-low 10 points on 4-for-19 shooting.
Notre Dame's previous low this season was 57 points in a loss to North Carolina on Jan. 7.
River Baldwin had 14 points and 10 rebounds for N.C. State (22-3, 9-3 ACC).
Men
NO. 2 PURDUE 84 MINNESOTA 76
Zach Edey overcame a slow start with 24 points and 15 rebounds as the host Boilermakers (23-2, 12-2 Big Ten) rallied from a 10-point deficit.
Dawson Garcia led the Gophers (15-9, 6-7) with 24 points.
NO. 18 SAINT MARY'S 103 PEPPERDINE 59
Augustus Marciulionis scored a career-high 28 points and, Alex Ducas beat the halftime buzzer with a halfcourt shot to lead the host Gaels (21-6, 12-0 West Coast Conference) for their 13th straight win. Jevon Porter had 13 points to pace the Waves (10-17, 3-9), who have lost seven of eight.
NO. 24 FLA. ATLANTIC 80 TEMPLE 68
Johnell Davis scored 17 points, Alijah Martin and Brandon Weatherspoon each had 16 and host Florida Atlantic (20-5, 10-2 American) beat Temple (8-17, 1-11) in a battle of the Owls.
SOUTH ALABAMA 72 TEXAS STATE 55
Brandon Love led the visiting Bobcats (11-15, 4-9 Sun Belt) with 13 points. Davion Sykes added 12 points and Jordan Mason finished with 11 for Texas State.
SAM HOUSTON 70, FIU 56
Lamar Wilkerson had 14 points and five rebounds for the host Bearkats (14-11, 7-3 Conference USA) in a win over the Panthers.
NORTH TEXAS 76 MEMPHIS 66
Jason Edwards scored 30 points for the host Mean Green (14-10, 7-5 American). Edwards was 8 of 16 shooting, including 7 for 9 from 3-point range, and went 7 for 8 from the line for UNT.
SMU 87 TULANE 79
Chuck Harris scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half to lead the visiting Mustangs (18-7, 9-3 American). The Green Wave (13-11, 4-8) were led by Kevin Cross, who finished with 20 points and six rebounds.