Caitlin Clark finished Sunday’s game at Nebraska just shy of the record, She entered the game against the Cornhuskers needing 39 to pass Kelsey Plum in points but finished with 31 points in Nebraska’s 82–79 upset victory.
If not in Iowa City, Lincoln would have been an almost fitting place for Clark to set the record. She entered Sunday with 287 career points against Nebraska, the most she has tallied against any single opponent. In her eight prior meetings against them, she had never scored fewer than 30 points.
“There’s not been a women’s basketball player who has captured the imagination of all sports fans,” longtime Nebraska radio play-by-play announcer Matt Coatney told The Athletic. “Husker fans recognize that. They may not completely like her, but there’s some begrudging respect.”
Nebraska sold out the game against Iowa weeks ago, the first for a women’s basketball game in the 11-year history of the 15,500-seat Pinnacle Bank Arena. Then, right from the start, Clark made her presence felt. Although she missed her first 3-point attempt, she scored on Iowa’s third possession and its subsequent possession too. Clark ended the first quarter with seven points. She finished the first half with 17 points and seven assists, one of which gave her 1,000 for…
