LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — If Caitlin Clark is going to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women's basketball history on Sunday, she will have to post one of her highest point totals of the season in No. 2 Iowa's game at Nebraska.
The Hawkeyes' superstar has 3,489 points and needs 39 to pass Kelsey Plum's total of 3,527 for Washington from 2013-17.
Clark, who scored 27 in a 111-93 win over Penn State in Iowa's last game, is averaging 32.2 points. She is on pace to set the record Thursday at home against Michigan — if she doesn't do it Sunday when the game is nationally broadcast at noon Central on Fox.
She has scored 40 or more points in three games this season and has played some of the best games of her career against Nebraska, going off for 41 in the 2022 Big Ten Tournament, 39 in Lincoln in 2021 and 38 in a 92-73 win in Iowa City two weeks ago.
The game at Pinnacle Bank Arena has been sold out since the first week of January, and sellers on the secondary ticket market late in the week were asking as much as $2,000 for a seat in the lower bowl.
“I love Pinnacle Bank. They always have a great crowd. That’s what fires a competitor up for a game," Clark said in a preseason interview with The Associated Press. “I have a bunch of family from Nebraska, and they’re all there and that motivates me more. It’s the only time they get to watch me."
Fans began lining up at the arena doors six hours before tipoff. Five preteen girls in an end zone section, each holding up a letter to spell out "CLARK," started a “Caitlin Clark” chant 90 minutes before tipoff.
Cheers increased in volume when Clark was first spotted in the tunnel from the locker room to the court. Fans leaning on the railing reached down in hopes of getting a hand slap as she came through. Next was a standing ovation when Clark, escorted by a security guard, stepped onto the court to begin shooting drills. She shot alone for five minutes before teammates joined her.
Kim Malone of Omaha showed up at about 8:15 a.m. carrying a sign reading, “Feels like a great day to drop a 40 piece. Let her cook. GOAT 22.”
“We're here early because we love Caitlin Clark and what she's done for women's basketball,” Malone said. “I played Division II, my daughter plays, we love basketball. To watch all these people come, it's just amazing.”
Malone said she admires the fearlessness with which Clark plays.
“She's like the closest thing to Kobe Bryant for us, and we love Kobe,” she said. “Her work ethic and her pursuit to be the greatest is incredible, but then she doesn't get lost in that. She includes everybody. Her passes are incredible. She's one of a kind.”
Nick Ames of Lincoln was the first person waiting to enter the arena, arriving at 6:45 a.m. He came to root for Nebraska and wore a T-shirt saying, “I’m Kevin O’Hare’s Favorite Cousin.” O’Hare is Clark’s shooting coach.
“I’m here to heckle today because I do not want her to get that record and just thought the shirt and bringing up him would be something to get in her mind a little bit,” said Ames, adding that his mission was to get as close to the court as he could so she would see the shirt. “I’m a Husker fan. She can get it at home if she wants it.”
Clark, who is from West Des Moines, Iowa, has never scored fewer than 30 points in eight games against Nebraska, all wins. Her 34.8 points per game against the Cornhuskers is her highest average against opponents she's faced more than four times.
In three visits to Lincoln, Clark has averaged 33.3 points, shot 52.4% (33 of 63) overall and 42.3% (11 of 26) on 3-pointers.
“You just like certain arenas; you have good history of shooting there, you have good history of winning there,” she said. “It’s just always good vibes when we go to Lincoln.”
If Clark breaks the NCAA record Sunday, her next target will be the all-time major women's college scoring record of 3,649 by Kansas' Lynette Woodard from 1977-81. During Woodard's era, women's sports were governed by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.
Clark has been the face of college hoops this season, with a flashy offensive game highlighted by breathtaking 3-point shots sometimes launched from the edge of the halfcourt logo. The Nebraska game is Iowa's fourth on network TV this season.
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