Caitlin Clark has no problem delivering on the NCAA’s biggest stage.
In 11 NCAA Tournament games, she has averaged 28.4 points per contest, and last year, she was really on her A-game, averaging a whopping 31.8 points per game en route to leading Iowa to the national championship.
There have been plenty of memorable NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament runs over the years, and hers might just top the list even though it didn’t result in a title.
Where does she rank all-time for most points scored in a single tournament? Here’s what you need to know.
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Most points in March Madness run
Women’s March Madness
Clark scored 191 points in her six games. That was enough for her to vault to the top of the record books and claim the most points scored in a single trip to the tournament.
She passed Sheryl Swoopes for the women’s record, which the Texas Tech star had set at 177 points in 1993. Impressively, Swoopes hit that mark in only five games. She is the only player in the top nine to play in fewer than six games. Jackie Stiles also had her total of 140 games in five games.
Here’s the list of the best women’s tournament runs of all-time.
| Rank | Player | Team | Year | Points |
| 1 | Caitlin Clark | Iowa | 2023 | 191 |
| 2 | Sheryl Swoopes | Texas Tech | 1993 | 177 |
| 3 | Chamique Holdsclaw | Tennessee | 1998 | 158 |
| 4 | Diana Taurasi | Connecticut | 2003 | 157 |
| 5 | Arike Ogunbowale | Notre Dame | 2019 | 155 |
| 6 | Candice Wiggins | Stanford | 2008 | 151 |
| 7 | Aari McDonald | Arizona | 2021 | 149 |
| 8 | Arike Ogunbowale | Notre Dame | 2018 | 145 |
| 9 | Maya Moore | Connecticut | 2010 | 144 |
| 10 | Jackie Stiles | Missouri State | 2001 | 140 |
When it comes to scoring average, however, Clark doesn’t quite reach the top. Among women to play at three tournament games, the minimum to qualify in the NCAA record books, Drake’s Lorri Bauman holds the record at 36.7 points per game.
Clark’s average of 31.8 points per game in 2023 ranks fifth among players, but it’s the most for anyone to have played in more than three games. Sheryl Swoopes’ average of 35.4, second-highest, is the only other to come in more than four games. Courtney Vandersloot, at 29.3 points per game in 2011, reached her average in exactly four games.
| Rank | Player | Team | Year | Average |
| 1 | Lorri Bauman | Drake | 1982 | 36.7 |
| 2 | Sheryl Swoopes | Texas Tech | 1993 | 35.4 |
| 3 | Maddy Siegrist | Villanova | 2023 | 32.3 |
| 4 | Kelsey Plum | Washington | 2017 | 32 |
| 5 | Caitlin Clark | Iowa | 2023 | 31.8 |
| 6 | Chennedy Carter | Texas A&M | 2018 | 31.3 |
| T-7 | Kelsey Mitchell | Ohio State | 2016 | 30.7 |
| T-7 | Chennedy Carter | Texas | 2019 | 30.7 |
| 9 | LaTaunya Pollard | Long Beach State | 1983 | 29.3 |
| 10 | Courtney Vandersloot | Gonzaga | 2011 | 29.3 |
March Madness
Clark didn’t just set the record for the women’s side. She surpassed all Division I basketball players for the most points scored in a single tournament run when she reached 191.
Clark passed Michigan’s Glen Rice, who scored 184 points in 1989, to claim the overall record among all collegiate Division I players.
Here’s a look at how the rankings shape up in men’s or women’s.
| Rank | League | Player | Team | Year | Points |
| 1 | Women’s | Caitlin Clark | Iowa | 2023 | 191 |
| 2 | Men’s | Glen Rice | Michigan | 1989 | 184 |
| T-3 | Men’s | Bill Bradley | Princeton | 1965 | 177 |
| T-3 | Women’s | Sheryl Swoopes | Texas Tech | 1993 | 177 |
| 5 | Men’s | Elvin Hayes | Houston | 1968 | 167 |
| 6 | Men’s | Danny Manning | Kansas | 1988 | 163 |
| T-7 | Men’s | Hal Lear | Temple | 1956 | 160 |
| T-7 | Men’s | Jerry West | West Virginia | 1959 | 160 |
| T-9 | Men’s | Austin Carr | Notre Dame | 1970 | 158 |
| T-9 | Men’s | Joe Barry Carroll | Purdue | 1980 | 158 |
| T-9 | Women’s | Chamique Holdsclaw | Tennessee | 1998 | 158 |
When it comes to career scoring averages, the record is held by Notre Dame’s Austin Carr at 52.7 points per game in three games in 1970. He’s also second with an average of 41.7 points per game, which he reached in 1971.
| Rank | League | Player | Team | Year | Average |
| 1 | Men’s | Austin Carr | Notre Dame | 1970 | 52.7 |
| 2 | Men’s | Austin Carr | Notre Dame | 1971 | 41.7 |
| 3 | Women’s | Lorri Bauman | Drake | 1982 | 36.7 |
| T-4 | Men’s | Jerry Chambers | Utah | 1966 | 35.8 |
| T-4 | Men’s | Bo Kimble | Loyola Marymount | 1990 | 35.8 |
| T-6 | Men’s | Bill Bradley | Princeton | 1965 | 35.4 |
| T-6 | Women’s | Sheryl Swoopes | Texas Tech | 1993 | 35.4 |
| 8 | Men’s | Clyde Lovellette | Kansas | 1952 | 35.2 |
| 9 | Men’s | Jerry West | West Virginia | 1960 | 35 |
| 10 | Men’s | Gail Goodrich | UCLA | 1965 | 35 |
