Caitlin Clark chiseled a bit off her historic chase.
But as she watched Hannah Stuelke nearly make her own history, Clark had a message for Stuelke when she left the court for the final time in Iowa’s 111-93 win over Penn State on Thursday.
Stuelke had just scored 47 points, one point behind the single-game program record set by Megan Gustafson, and one point ahead of Clark’s career best. So Clark, who had 27 points on a turnover-filled night, couldn’t resist saying something to the sophomore.
“She said, ‘I expect you to do this every game now,’” Stuelke said, laughing as she recalled the conversation.
History — Clark’s chase of Kelsey Plum to become the NCAA women’s basketball all-time leading scorer — hung over Thursday’s game. Not that Clark was going to break the record — she came in needing 66 points to do it, and left needing 39 — but it was a matter of how much of the margin she could trim heading into Sunday’s game at Nebraska and next Thursday’s home game against Michigan.