$3.1 million NIL-valued Caitlin Clark just 29 points away from breaking Kelsey Plum's unique scoring record
Caitlin Clark has become the all-time NCAA scoring leader for both men and women. She's also surpassed Stephen Curry's record for most threes made in a season. However, it appears she isn't finished setting records in this year's March Madness.
This time, the $3.1 million NIL-valued Clark is after yet another scoring record set by the Las Vegas Aces` Kelsey Plum: the Division 1 NCAA women`s hoops single-season scoring record. The Iowa star is currently 29 points away from beating Plum`s mark, as announced on X (formerly Twitter) by NCAA March Madness:
Kelsey Plum scored 1,109 points to set the record during her senior season as a member of the Washington Huskies, back in the 2016-2017 season. Caitlin Clark`s mark is currently at 1,080, but that also belies the fact that the Iowa hoops star is also the only other player in women`s NCAA D1 history to have scored over 1,000 points in more than one season, doing it last year and this year.
Either way, Caitlin Clark has been on an absolute scoring tear that the basketball world hasn`t seen much in recent memory. Her biggest achievement was, arguably, her setting of the new all-time NCAA scoring benchmark for both men and women--beating the previous record set by the iconic Pistol Pete Maravich.
With the Iowa Hawkeyes still well into March Madness, there`s still a ton of chances left for Clark to beat Kelsey Plum`s other record. They meet 8-seed West Virginia next after destroying 16-seed Holy Cross in the first round.
Can Caitlin Clark lead Iowa to an NCAA title?
By this point, it`s championship or bust for Clark and the Hawkeyes. They still have to get out of their region, and there`s a good chance that they`ll have to meet defending champs LSU once again (this time in the Elite Eight) before they earn the right to go to the Final Four.
Last year, the Tigers handed the Hawkeyes a 102-85 defeat in the national title game. Considering this is Clark`s final year with Iowa as she`s already declared for the draft, they`ll have to exorcise a demon before they get a chance to move on. But they can`t get caught looking too far ahead, as they still need to take care of West Virginia in the second round.
The Lady Mountaineers have their scoring dynamo in 5-foot-8 junior guard JJ Quinerly, though the biggest thing going against them is their relative lack of NCAA Tournament experience. For now, it remains to be seen whether West Virginia can make it a ballgame.