Iowa vs. Northwestern women’s basketball: Caitlin Clark becomes No. 2 on scoring list

Another Caitlin Clark game, and another sellout. Sound familiar?

Iowa's Caitlin Clark second on NCAA women's basketball scoring list

The reigning national player of the year and Iowa’s star guard, Clark scored 35 and handed out 10 assists in a 110-74 Hawkeyes win at Northwestern on Wednesday night, where a sellout crowd of 7,039 got to see her tally the 54th double-double of her career.

Clark, who averages a nation-best 32.1 points per game, passed two women’s basketball greats Wednesday in her chase to break the NCAA women’s scoring record: Missouri State’s Jackie Stiles (3,393 points) and Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell (3,402). Clark is now No. 2 all-time with 3,424 career points. The record, set by former Washington All-American Kelsey Plum (3,527 points) in February 2017, is within reach.

Clark has a habit of selling out arenas wherever she plays. Iowa announced in August, months before the season started, that they’d sold out for every game and over the last few weeks, each of the Hawkeyes’ road games has sold out, too. Fans are paying hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to watch Clark in person. When Ohio State upset Iowa a couple weeks ago, many in the record crowd of 18,660 rushed the floor to celebrate the Buckeyes’ win.

Caitlin Clark is officially the second-best scorer in the history of NCAA women’s basketball.

With a crafty layup with 4:58 left in the first half, Clark officially passed fellow Big Ten All-American Kelsey Mitchell, who starred at Ohio State from 2014-18, on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list. (With this bucket, she became the leading scorer in Big Ten history.) Her layup followed a 3 late in the first quarter that moved her up to No. 3 all-time, passing Jackie Stiles.

Iowa star Caitlin Clark moved into second on the NCAA women’s basketball career scoring list on Wednesday night, finishing with 35 points in the Hawkeyes’ 110-74 victory over Northwestern. It was her 13th game this season with at least 30 points.

And that’s all, folks.

After dropping 35 points and dishing 11 assists, Clark told Peacock she credits Hawkeyes’ coach Lisa Bluder for “letting me have the keys to the offense,” and allowing her and her teammates to run an up-tempo style that’s a whole lot of fun to watch.

Thirteen Hawkeyes got minutes Wednesday night, and 11 of them scored. Can Iowa top that when it travels to Maryland on Saturday?

Clark isn’t the only one feeling it tonight.

Caitlin Clark moves into No. 2 on NCAA scoring list as No. 3 Iowa pounds Northwestern 110-74 | News, Sports, Jobs - The Intelligencer

Iowa is 10-of-23 from long-distance tonight, and Clark has only hit three of those. Four Hawkeyes are in double figures so far: Clark has 35, Stuelke has 17, Kate Martin has 16 and Gabbie Marshall has 12. All of Marshall’s points have come from 3, as she’s connected on 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Martin is 2-of-2 from 3.

Oh, and did we mention that Clark has also tallied 10 assists, giving her a double-double? That’s the 54th of her career.

Northwestern was dealt a blow with 1:32 to play in the third quarter when Caileigh Walsh, a starting forward, fouled out. She scored nine points, grabbed two rebounds and blocked one shot but played just 17 minutes. That’s not the receipt for an upset.

It’s been a rough season for Northwestern, which is 2-7 in Big Ten play, and on its way to its eighth loss.

But the Wildcats sold out Welsh Ryan Arena tonight, and there’s a chance that some little girl in the crowd will ask her parents if they can come back next game, too. That’s the power of Caitlin Clark, who is helping grow the game every time she steps on the floor. And can you imagine if she comes back for a fifth year?

It’s been a rough season for Northwestern, which is 2-7 in Big Ten play, and on its way to its eighth loss.

Iowa-Northwestern: Caitlin Clark is No. 2 women's basketball scorer

Tonight, Clark is on the way to yet another double-double, as she already has 27 points and eight assists. Stuelke, who has 17, has been one of her favorite targets this season.

This turned into a blowout quickly.

Clark has 23, Stuelke has 12 and all but one of Iowa’s players has scored as the Hawkeyes stretch out their lead over Northwestern.

It wasn’t that long ago the Wildcats were making noise in the women’s NCAA tournament but right now, Iowa is elite and the Hawkeyes are playing like it. Clark and the Hawkeyes are particularly tough in transition, and currently have an 18-5 edge in fast break points.

There are positives for Northwestern though, including the fact that NU’s bench is outscoring Iowa 22-8.

It’s just another double-digit lead for Iowa.

You’ve got to hand it to Northwestern: The Wildcats made it tough for the first 12 minutes or so, hanging with Iowa and holding Clark to less than 10 points. But it was short-lived.

Clark has 18 points, four assists and four rebounds at the break, helping Iowa to a 47-32 lead. Stuelke has been tough int he paint, scoring 12 (she’s 4-of-5 from the field) and grabbing four boards. Already, Iowa has 11 assists on 14 made baskets, and the Hawkeyes are shooting 45.2% from the field. Iowa has also outscored Northwestern 18-10 in the paint.

Melannie Daley has 10 for Northwestern, but the Wildcats are going to need to help her out if they’re going to make this a game.