No. 3 Hawkeyes Overwhelm Northwestern

Caitlin Clark has one more step to take to reach the pinnacle of women’s college basketball.

The Iowa senior guard scored 35 points in Wednesday’s 110-74 win over Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., to become the Big Ten’s all-time scoring leader and to move into second place on the national all-time list.

Clark, who started the night in fourth place on the career scoring list, now has 3,424 points, passing Jackie Stiles (3,393) and Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell (3,402). She needs 104 points to pass all-time leader Kelsey Plum of Washington.

At her current pace, Clark should become the all-time leader in the February 11 game at Nebraska, or the February 15 game against Michigan at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Clark was 11-of-22 from the field and 10-of-10 in free throws. She added 10 assists for her 54th career double-double.

A sellout crowd of 7,039, a record for a Northwestern women’s basketball game, packed Welsh-Ryan Arena to see Clark, and she delivered another show as she closes in on history.

Other takeaways from the game:

REACHING 20: Iowa moved to 20-2 overall, the eighth consecutive 20-win season for coach Lisa Bluder. Only C. Vivian Stringer, who had a 10-year streak, has a longer streak in program history.

The Hawkeyes, ranked No. 3 nationally, maintained their share of the Big Ten lead, moving to 9-1 in Big Ten play heading into Saturday’s game at Maryland.

GETTING GABBIE GOING: Gabbie Marshall had 12 points on 4-of-5 3-point shooting, something the Hawkeyes are going to need heading into the final weeks of the regular season and into the postseason.

Marshall came into the game having made just 1-of-8 3-point attempts over the last three games, after a three-game stretch in which she had 12 3-pointers.

Marshall is always a consistent defender for the Hawkeyes, but more offensive production would help stretch opposing defenses.

SOLID STUELKE: Sophomore Hannah Stuelke put together an impressive 17-point, 9-rebound night, in just 24 minutes of play.

Stuelke was 6-of-9 from the field after scoring just 22 points over the last three games. Stuelke had a streak of seven consecutive double-digit games earlier this season, and a return to that kind of consistent production will help Iowa’s inside game.

GLUE NIGHT: Kate Martin had 16 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes.

Martin has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 18 games. She has scored 15 or more points in 10 games this season, a career-high.

OTHER NOTES: It was the sixth 100-point game for Iowa this season. … Iowa is 35-4 in Big Ten action since Feb. 9, 2022. The Hawkeyes are 15-5 in their last 20 road games. … It was Clark’s 50th career game with 30 or more points, the most in men’s or women’s college basketball history over the last 25 seasons.