Caitlin Clarks nabs one more NCAA basketball record, this one from Steph Curry
Although Caitlin Clark had a less impressive shooting performance against Penn State on March 8 of the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals, she continued to make more history.
Clark's two 3-pointers gave her 164 points, which is the most ever in a season by a Division I player, men or women. But who did she pass?
She passed Stephen Curry, who had 162 3-pointers at Davidson in 2007-08. Curry did so in 36 games, while Clark played in 31 to beat the record.
Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes passes Steph Curry to become the single-season NCAA all-time 3-point leader with her 163rd triple during the second half of a Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament game against No. 7 seed Penn State. Iowa won 95 - 62. 📸: Aaron J. Thornton pic.twitter.com/dxIiODZs53
— Getty Images Sport (@GettySport) March 9, 2024
Overall, though, it was a rough game for Clark. She missed 11 attempts from 3- before making her first with 8:41 left in the game. But Clark has been held without a 3-pointer only once in her Iowa career.
When Curry was asked about the comparisons between himself and Clark during an interview with CBS Mornings, he said he believed those comparisons were unfair to Clark and underestimated her diverse skill set.
“I think it almost robs her of, like, the rest of her game, because she’s such a good floor, you know, she has her overall, you know, floor game, she’s racking up, you know, close to triple-doubles every night. And, like, her shooting ability is, you know, it’s her superpower, but the rest of her game is as polished as that, and so this is must-see TV,” Curry said.
Looking at Clark's career, she has 520 3-pointers, while the NCAA women's career record is 537 by Taylor Robertson.
That would mean that Clark needs just 18 3-pointers to break Robertson's record. At the rate that Clark is going with her three-point percentage on the season, which is 38.1%
However, Clark attempts an average of 13.8 3-pointers per game. Given that statistic and considering her future in a Hawkeye uniform, it could be possible for her to break the record after the first two rounds of the tournament.
By breaking this record, she would add to her already stacked resume, including the Big Ten career record for 3-pointers, the leading scorer in the Big Ten tournament, and named the Most Outstanding Player in the Big Ten tournament.