Kelsey Plum ‘Excited’ for Caitlin Clark to Break NCAA Career Scoring Record

The former Washington Huskies standout isn’t fretting about losing her mark for all-time points to the Iowa Hawkeyes star.
Kelsey Plum ‘Excited’ for Caitlin Clark to Break NCAA Career Scoring Record
Kelsey Plum ‘Excited’ for Caitlin Clark to Break NCAA Career Scoring Record /

Kelsey Plum knows records are meant to be broken. 

The Las Vegas Aces—and former Washington—star currently owns the NCAA Division I women’s basketball career scoring record, having amassed 3,527 points during a stellar four-year career with the Huskies. 

It’s a record that is in jeopardy, as Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, the nation’s leading scorer with 32.1 points per game, is within striking distance at second on the all-time list with 3,424 career points heading into the No. 3 Hawkeyes’ matchup at Maryland on Saturday night. 

Plum was asked about Clark and the record during a video call from a Team USA women’s basketball camp at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The gracious Aces star said she will be “grateful” to cede the record to Clark and is “excited” for the Iowa star, per Michael Voepel of ESPN.

“I’m actually very grateful to pass that baton. I’m very happy for her,” Plum said, per Voepel.

Plum discussed how the pressure to break the record, held at the time by Missouri State’s Jackie Stiles, made the journey a “low point” in her life. But she added that Clark “carries it with grace.”

“To be honest, [the record] was very much a low point in my life,” Plum said, per Voepel. “It felt like a lot of pressure, and my identity was kind of caught up in that record. I hope everyone in the media takes time to understand that [Clark] is not just a basketball player but a young woman that has feelings and emotions. She carries it with grace, but there’s a lot to handle there.”

Clark will have all eyes on her, both during the Maryland game, which will feature a solo camera on her, and during her ongoing quest to break Plum’s record. 

The Hawkeyes (20–2) are scheduled to tip off against the Terrapins (12–9) at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. 


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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.