Caitlin Clark is a threat everywhere and to everyone. Here are the numbers to prove it

During Caitlin Clark's three-plus seasons at Iowa, she has regularly sprinted toward and past whatever was in front of her. Often that means blowing past defenders on the way to layups at the rim. Sometimes she runs around screens and away from opponents to create space for catch-and-shoot 3s. Since the start of the season, Clark has had her eye on former Washington star Kelsey Plum's NCAA women's basketball record of 3,527 points. “(She came) ready to knock it down,” Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder told the Big Ten Network last week. “This has not been a burden on her.”

Heading into Thursday's No. 4 Iowa game against Michigan, Clark had averaged a nation-leading 33.8 points in her last five games. History didn't seem to bother her.

Time and time again, as Clark passed opponents on the field and contemporaries in the record book, she rose from 3rd to the occasion. When she became the all-time NCAA women's basketball leading scorer on Thursday, she did so in a 49-point performance that set a new career-high and Iowa record. Now that she holds the NCAA scoring title with 3,569 points, her chase to the top will be remembered for her sheer dominance and unparalleled consistency. “What she has done to improve our program and women's basketball nationally is spectacular,” Bluder said after the Hawkeyes' 106-89 victory.

During Clark's freshman season, her three-point ability was immediately apparent. In 30 games, she made 116 shots from behind the arc, more than double that of any of her teammates. According to CBB Analytics, Clark also knocked down 22 more 3s above the break in the 2020-2021 season than any other player in the country, shooting nearly half of her field goal attempts from that range.

Clark plays in a fast-paced system and is encouraged to shoot wherever and whenever she feels comfortable. In each of the past three seasons, she has accounted for more than 30 percent of Iowa's total shot attempts. By comparison, career top-five prospects Kelsey Mitchell and Brittney Griner both made about 26 percent of their team's shots during their senior seasons. Last year's second-leading Big Ten scorer (behind Clark), Mackenzie Holmes, accounted for just 21.6 percent of Indiana's total field goal attempts.

Clark's success from deep has been integral to her success. Of the four other players in the NCAA's top five, only Mitchell (2014-18) scored more points than 3. Still, Clark's point totals, like Plum's, reflect a balanced repertoire. The 6-foot-4 Iowa guard has made nearly 40 percent of her points from 2 and just over 40 percent from behind the arc.

Clark is a threat just about anywhere on the floor. Consider that she entered Thursday as a career 42.4 percent shooter on the right wing 3s — the national average from there last season was 30.6 percent, according to CBB Analytics — while also shooting nearly 40 percent on the left baseline 2s — something less than 10 percent above the national average in 2023. Even around the rim, she's more productive than her peers, shooting 66.1 percent in her career en route to Iowa's most recent win, compared to the Division I's 57.1 percent a year ago. “Almost everyone wants to talk about her long shot,” assistant coach Abby Stamp said. “We're a little more dimensional in the way we look at her game.”

Excluding Clark's production around the basket, the second-highest percentage of her points come from the left wing. From there, she often creates space for her defenders on step-back leaning triples.

As Clark's career progressed, her playing created a buzz. According to Vivid Seats, the average ticket price for Iowa road games this season is almost $108. Of the Hawkeyes' 32 regular season games this season, 30 have either sold out or set attendance records for women's basketball. The only exceptions were Iowa's neutral-court games during a Thanksgiving tournament.

While Clark has seemingly lit up every foe she has faced – only once in her 126 career games has she scored fewer than 10 points – there is no opponent she has dominated as much as Nebraska. After last Sunday's game, in which she finished with 31 points, she has scored a total of 309 points against the Cornhuskers, the most against a single foe. Her success against conference contenders Indiana (226 points) and Ohio State (203 points) reinforces her greatness against the conference's top competition. Unsurprisingly, Clark also did well against Michigan, despite playing in just her fifth game against the Wolverines on Thursday. She entered the record-breaking game averaging 34.8 points against the Wolverines, her highest per-game average against an opponent she has played at least three times. That average only increased when she achieved 49 points.

In addition to Big Ten schools, Clark has scored more than 100 points against three other conferences. In particular, she has performed well against the Missouri Valley Conference schools. Of her 325 career points against MVC opponents, 102 have come against Northern Iowa. Clark has scored 93 points at Drake, located in nearby Des Moines. Following a similar theme, Iowa State is the Big 12 opponent she has scored the most against (114).

Stamp applauds Clark for her commitment to Iowa's conditioning, nutrition and strength programs, which are often overlooked as keys to her success. “I think she deserves a lot of credit for the way she's handled that, and the way she's treated her body and really thinks about herself in a professional way,” Stamp said. Clark has remained durable and has never missed a game. She has also averaged at least 33 minutes per game each season. Combined with her availability and her ability to play longer minutes, Clark has created an opportunity for much of what she has earned.

After Thursday's game, 799 of Clark's 1,171 field goals were made unassisted, with teammates getting an assist on only 372 baskets.

Given the experience on Iowa's roster, it's not exactly surprising that sixth-year senior forward Kate Martin Clark has the most assists. Fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall has played four seasons at Clark and has opened up her defensive mate for shots.

Clark could take advantage of a COVID-19 eligibility rule and return to college for a fifth season. Doing so would create even more distance from Plum and the rest of her peers, potentially creating an insurmountable margin for future generations to absorb. Seven years passed between Clark and Plum setting the record, but if Clark turns pro, it might not be that long before a new standard is set. USC freshman guard JuJu Watkins is averaging 27.7 points per game – up from Clark's freshman average of 26.6. Could another record hunt be on the horizon?

(Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletics; Data images: Drew Jordan / The Athletics; Photos of Caitlin Clark: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)