Ms. 3,000: Iowa's Caitlin Clark in pursuit of Plum

Iowa basketball phenom Caitlin Clark continues to do things that will put her on the Mount Rushmore of women’s college basketball.

During a game against Iowa State on Dec. 7, she became the 15th player in Division I women’s basketball history to reach 3,000 career points, and did it in the fewest number of games with 110. Other names on the list include current WNBAers Kelsey Plum (who holds the record for most points in women’s DI basketball), Elena Delle Donne and hall of famers Chamique Holdsclaw and Cheryl Miller.

“Caitlin surpassing the 3,000 mark is really special,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said of the evening. “That is a very hard thing to do, and to do it so early in her senior season is amazing.”

With over half the season left to go, Clark is on pace to pass Plum by the end of February.

“Let’s just say when she breaks it, I’ll be very, very happy,” said Plum, who also recalled the stress her pursuit of the scoring record took on her mental health.

“In college, people really noticed all the records and accolades and all the stuff broken, but I was really hurting in terms of my identity and trying to figure out who I was as a person at that time,” said the former Washington standout.

“It was all people cared about, you know? There was never a, how am I doing? And it’s not anyone’s fault, it’s human nature,” added Plum, who went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft. “You see something happening like that and people assume life is great because, you could argue, I probably played one of the best individual years of basketball of all time.”

According to Just Women’s Sports, Plum dealt with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, and took antidepressants and sleeping pills

Clark’s legacy

Clark has already had a storied career and created a legacy that will be remembered for quite some time, and her time with the Hawkeyes isn’t even over yet. She was the 2022 AP Player of the Year and helped her team dance its way all the way to the NCAA championship game last year where they lost to LSU. She is averaging 29.6 points per game this season and has her jersey manufactured by Nike and sold in stores.

“It’s special to be able to do it here,” Clark said. “I have a lot of family in attendance. But it was kind of the same as when I broke the [Hawkeyes] scoring record. We keep playing.”