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It didn’t take Caitlin Clark long to break records in the April 7 NCAA Women’s National Championship game.
The Iowa superstar and 2024 Associated Press Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year scored 18 points in the first quarter alone against South Carolina. This blistering performance marked the most points ever scored in a single quarter of an NCAA championship game, according to ESPN.
Clark scored her 18 points by shooting 5 of 8 from the field, 5 of 6 on free throws, and 3 of 4 on three-pointers.
This insane first quarter performance was a stark contrast to the first half of Iowa’s Final Four game against UConn. In that first half, Clark went 0 for 6 on three pointers and scored just 6 total points.
Clark’s hot start caught the attention of NBA legend LeBron James. After the first quarter ended, James wrote on X, “If you don’t rock with Caitlin Clark game you’re just a FLAT OUT HATER!!!!! Stay far away from them people!! PLEASE”.
James is locked in to the NCAA Women’s Championship game like the rest of us.
James was also watching the April 5 Final Four matchup between Iowa and UConn. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader didn’t agree with a controversial call at the end of that game — and fans called him out on it.
It appears that James will now stick to praising Clark.
Lisa Bluder on Caitlin Clark: “When She Feels It, She Feels It.”
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder is used to letting Caitlin Clark cook.
Bluder spoke with ESPN’s Holly Rowe in between the first and second quarter. When asked about Clark’s record-breaking first quarter, Bluder said, “When she feels it, she feels it.”
Yet, Clark feeling it in the first quarter wasn’t enough to stop an undefeated South Carolina squad.
The single quarter scoring record wasn’t the only milestone Clark set on April 7.
Clark needed 18 points to surpass Tennessee legend Chamique Holdsclaw for the most career points scored in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
Clark broke Holdsclaw’s record by the end of the first quarter.
Did Clark Get Away With an Offensive Foul?
Fans on social media believe that Clark got away with an offensive foul prior to one of her first quarter three-pointers.
X user Nick Perkins posted a video of Clark pushing off on a South Carolina defender, prior to draining a first quarter three.
The ESPN broadcast also said that Clark got away with a foul on the play. Yet, the referees didn’t blow any whistle, so the made shot became another one of the 3 three-pointers Clark scored in the quarter.
Update: Clark’s incredible first quarter ended up not being enough, as her Iowa Hawkeyes lost the NCAA Women’s National Championship game to the South Carolina Gamecocks, 87-75.
Clark finished the game with 30 points. Her final stat line shows her going 10 of 28 from the field and 5 of 13 on three pointers. She didn’t return to the free throw line after the first quarter ended.
Clark’s Hawkeyes have now lost two consecutive NCAA Women’s National Championship games.
Despite not winning an NCAA championship, Clark will still go down as an all-time great in college basketball.
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