Caitlin Clark Sets Scoring Mark in Rout

Iowa Senior Moves Ahead of Megan Gustafson, Hawkeyes Thump UNI

Iowa's Caitlin Clark shoots a foul shot against Dartmouth during their game on Dec. 21, 2022 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The record was going to be broken soon, so there wasn’t a lot of discussion about it.

Caitlin Clark became Iowa’s all-time leading scorer on Sunday — not exactly the shock of all shocks — as the No. 3 Hawkeyes crushed Northern Iowa 94-53 in front of a packed-to-the rafters crowd at the McLeod Center.

Clark recorded the 12th triple-double of her career, with 24 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

But she now has 2,813 career points, nine more than Megan Gustafson’s old mark that was completed just four years ago.

And with essentially a whole season ahead, and maybe another one next year should she decide to use her extra season granted during the COVID-19 pandemic, that record will seem as unbeatable as Gustafson’s once was.

“I loved watching Megan,” Clark said. “What she did embodied what Iowa is all about.”

Gustafson laughed at the inevitability of the record falling on Saturday night, when she posted on Instagram that she would be celebrating her final night at No. 1.

But she also reached out to Clark with a simple message — break the record now.

“That speaks to our culture and our program,” Clark said. “She said, ‘You’re very, very deserving of this. Go out and do it.’ That’s not the first time Megan has reached out to me. She’s always supported me, she’s always supported our team. And that’s not fake — Megan is one of the best people of all-time.”

Northern Iowa coach Tanya Warren, who exchanged words with Clark when the two teams played here two seasons ago, was gracious in her analysis of the guard who is the reigning national player of the year.

“Caitlin Clark is the best player in the country,” Warren said. “No ifs, ands or buts about it. You're not going to stop her, you're not going to contain her. You just want to make things tough for her.”

There is a single digit, though, that came up in discussion after this game. In a week when No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Connecticut fell, here are the Hawkeyes, with a home rout of Fairleigh Dickinson, a neutral-court win over No. 8 Virginia Tech, and now a road win over a team picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference.

So, of course, the Hawkeyes were asked after the game about the possibility of being No. 1 in the nation when the new polls are released on Monday.

“We'll see,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “It really doesn't matter if we are or not. It's a long year. What are we this week? Three? That's darn good too.”

“I think it was a good (week), it gets you off on the right note,” Clark said. “But our group is mature enough to know this is just the starting block.”

The Hawkeyes seem to have picked up where they left off with last season’s run to the national championship game. They have churned through opponents, showing, as Clark said, the maturity that comes with being one of the nation’s best teams.

The broken record was about the only thing interesting in this one. The Hawkeyes (3-0) chewed up the Panthers (1-1), who shot 25 percent from the field. UNI was shaken early, and had no answer.

“I thought we defended well in the first half,” Warren said. “But when you can't put the ball in the hole, it wears on your defense.”

The Hawkeyes had their own shooting woes early. They were 13 of 32 from the field in the first half, then roared through the second half with a 66.7 percent shooting percentage that quieted the crowd of 6,500, the largest at the McLeod Center for a women’s game.

Gabbie Marshall broke out of her shooting slump with 17 points for the Hawkeyes, making 5-of-10 3-pointers. Hannah Stuelke had 16 points to go with seven rebounds.

One week down, and a long way to go, and for Clark, a record that will stand for a while.

“I hope Iowa has a really great player one day who can break mine, too,” Clark said.