Caitlin Clark swished a free throw Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to extend Iowa women’s basketball’s lead over Big Ten foe Wisconsin to 22-17 with 7:02 remaining in the second quarter.
In reality, though, she did much more with that single flick of the wrist.
With her made free throw, Clark moved into fourth place on the Division I career scoring list, passing former Baylor star Brittney Griner for the distinction.
With that free throw, Caitlin Clark now has the 4th most points in D1 history.@IowaWBB pic.twitter.com/ANUCPsxNsl
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 17, 2024
REQUIRED READING:Live updates: Caitlin Clark, No. 2 Iowa women’s basketball host Big Ten foe Wisconsin
At 3,274 points, Clark entered the game nine points behind Griner, the former national college player of the year who has gone on to become a nine-time WNBA all-star.
Clark’s free throw accounted for one of her 19 first-half points, putting her in position to potentially get her third 40-point game of the 2023-24 season. Her scoring output helped the No. 2 Hawkeyes build a 46-30 lead over the Badgers at halftime, even as Clark had a subpar shooting performance in the first half by her lofty standards, missing seven of her 11 field-goal attempts.
Given the prodigious rate at which Clark scores, Griner likely won’t be the last person the West Des Moines native passes over the next several games.
By halftime of Tuesday’s matchup, she was 100 points behind Missouri State’s Jackie Stiles for third on the all-time scoring list and 109 points behind Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell. Former Washington standout Kelsey Plum, now a starter for the two-time reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, is the current Division I scoring leader, with 3,527 career points.
