Caitlin Clark, the all-time scoring leader for NCAA Division I, wrapped up her prolific college basketball career in a plume of glory, amassing a grand total of 3,951 points, solidifying her place as the sixth leading scorer across all divisions in the history of college basketball.
A bright star on the Iowa courts, Clark put up an impressive 30-point performance against South Carolina in the ultimate climax of the women’s NCAA Tournament championship game. March 3 was a victorious day etched with remarkable passion as Clark surpassed Pete Maravich of the Louisiana State University (LSU), who in his time, tallied an impressive 3,667 points. With this accomplishment, she became the leading scorer, both men and women alike, in the history of NCAA Division I basketball.
Leaving an indelible mark on the courts, Clark declared her intention to bypass her remaining year of eligibility and step up to join the ranks of the WNBA, aspiring to be part of the draft come April. She is highly tipped to be the top contender for the number one pick, with Indiana Fever keeping a keen eye on her monumental progress.
An unyielding beacon for aspiring women basketball players, Clark’s deep range scoring has pointedly shown the boundless possibilities that the game has to offer. Indeed, she has become nothing short of a basketball icon among young women, who now ardently aspire to mirror her remarkable sportsmanship.
During the last game of her NCAA Tournament career on April 7, Clark played fearlessly, showcasing her impeccable skills even though Iowa lost to South Carolina 87-75. Her outstanding performance saw her score 30 points on a 10 out of 28 shooting performance from the field, which included five beyond-the-arc three pointers. Clark’s all-around gameplay was made evident by her additional contribution of eight rebounds and five assists to Iowa’s performance.
Engaging in a walk down memory lane, the all-time scoring leaderboard shaped up as such before Clark stepped up to claim her spot at the sixth position. The esteemed Lynette Woodard had been at the helm with 3,649 career points for Kansas achieved from 1977-81, before the NCAA began taking over women’s sports from the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). In fact, Clark had managed to surpass Woodard and Kelsey Plum to secure the women’s NCAA record earlier in the season.
Naturally, this leaderboard extends to other divisions and associations, with Pearl Moore of Francis Marion retaining the overall women’s record with her impressive 4,061 points scored from 1975-79 while playing at the AIAW small-college level. Moore kick-started her basketball journey with a sturdy start of 177 points at Anderson Junior College before she moved on to Francis Marion.
The men’s roster was led by the late Pete Maravich of LSU, whose record still remains a feat since he garnered 3,667 points spanning only three seasons (1967-70), and that too in an era sans the 3-point line and when first-year students weren’t able to partake in varsity teams.
The grand list of all-time top college scoring achievers stands with an interesting mix of talent from both the men’s and women’s divisions across various leagues, with Caitlin Clark now proudly etched as the all-time leader for NCAA D-I with her 3,951 points tally. This achievement caps off Clark’s monumental journey, one that began in 2020 and concluded with her last game on April 7, 2024.
