Jackie Stiles did everything she could to avoid hearing or reading about herself. For Kelsey Plum, she became more of a millstone than a landmark. But Caitlin Clark? The Iowa senior smiles, shrugs and says she really hasn't been nervous.
The NCAA women's basketball scoring record could soon change hands for the third time in 23 years. Clark is 39 points away from passing Plum, the former Washington Huskies standout who is No. 1 on the list with 3,527. Before Plum, Missouri State's Stiles held the mark of 3,393 points from 2001-2017.
While the pursuit of records has sometimes gotten tiresome for Stiles and Plum, Clark is trying to soak up every moment.
“I don't feel a lot of pressure,” he said after Iowa's 111-93 win over Penn State on Thursday in Iowa City. “I feel like, at this point, it's like 'when' it's going to happen, rather than me chasing it.
“My main goal is to win, have fun and enjoy these environments because they are very special. I have been able to find a lot of calm and peace in that, and it wasn't always like that in my career. At first I would get nervous about these types of games. “I feel like my maturity has grown a lot.”
Thursday's game was the rare occasion that Clark wasn't Iowa's leading scorer; Sophomore Hannah Stuelke scored a career-high 47 points, while Clark scored 27 with 15 assists. But Clark enjoyed Stuelke being the center of attention. Clark is the center of attention for giddy fans wherever the Hawkeyes go, but his chemistry is airtight.
Iowa coach Lisa Bluder credits Clark for perpetuating it.
“She wins every [bit] of respect for the way she acts, the way she practices… she doesn't act like a prima donna,” Bluder said. “I wish everyone could see behind the scenes what she is like. Everyone on our team respects her and admires the way she treats them.”
Like Stiles and Plum, Clark is a sniper guard. And they're linked in another way: Stiles recruited both Plum and Clark during her coaching career. When she saw Plum play when she was a high school student, Stiles thought even then that Plum would surpass her college record. Now, Stiles watches as Clark approaches Plum.
“There are a lot of things I love about Caitlin's game,” Stiles told ESPN. “Every time she has the ball in her hands, you're anticipating what's going to happen, because it's just electric.”
Those who watched Stiles, who played from 1997-2001 at Missouri State, then known as Southwest Missouri State, would say the same about her. Stiles' high in a single game in college was 56 points. She scored 1,062 points her senior year, when she led the Lady Bears to the 2001 Final Four in St. Louis.
In Stiles' senior year, he broke the NCAA scoring record before a sellout at Missouri State in the penultimate game of the regular season. Mississippi Valley State's Patricia Hoskins, who had held the NCAA record since 1989, flew in for the game as a surprise to Stiles.
Stiles said that during the search for the record, he tried not to read the newspaper or listen to local radio or television stations. He caused her too much stress. He didn't have a cell phone and it was still the days before social media.
Plum broke the record in a very different technological era. As a junior, Plum led the Huskies to the 2016 Final Four and then scored 1,109 points as a senior. He broke Stiles' record in Washington's final regular-season game in 2017 with a career-high 57-point performance.
Plum, a two-time WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces and an Olympic gold medalist, hasn't talked much lately about the record and says she prefers the focus to be on Clark because it's her time. But Ella Plum has said that despite it being such a great achievement, she didn't actually enjoy it.
“I remember, to be honest, [the record] “It was a very low point in my life,” Plum said in a recent USA Basketball media call. “It felt like there was a lot of pressure, and my identity got trapped in that record.
“I hope everyone in the media takes the time to understand that. [Clark] She is not just a basketball player but a young woman who has feelings and emotions. She handles it with grace, but there's a lot to handle there. If anything, be sure to show her your love outside of acting for her.”
Plum was the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft in 2017, but it took her a few seasons to feel completely comfortable as an elite scorer as a professional. During this past WNBA season, she referred to herself as a former “ball hog” and said she had to learn to take better shots and be more of a playmaker for others.
But Washington had no chance of reaching the Final Four without her scoring as much as she did. The same thing happened with Stiles in 2001 and with Clark in 2023.
As for what it takes to be an elite scorer, Stiles talked about practice, how much he watched his idol Michael Jordan, the drills he did, visualization and his competitiveness.
“I would have mantras, things I would say to myself even if I would never say them out loud to anyone else,” said Stiles, who is no longer a coach and is now a personal trainer. “One time I was wrestling and I said to myself, 'You know you're the best player on the court. It doesn't matter what they do. Nobody can stop you.'”
Stiles said Clark's signature extra-long three-point shot is doing more than just creating a lot of space for the Hawkeyes and giving them an adrenaline rush.
“His deep range, where people think, 'Wow, that's brave to shoot from there,' you have to realize that might be the cleanest look he's going to get with the defense he's facing,” Stiles said. “I love that she's fearless. She has such a quick release. And when the game is on the line, she's at her best. You know, she'll make something happen.”
Clark can aim for more if she surpasses Plum: The AIAW women's large-school record, set just before the NCAA era by Kansas' Lynette Woodard from 1977 to 1981, is 3,649 points. And LSU's Pete Maravich holds the overall NCAA college basketball mark with 3,667.
Clark's face never fails to light up when his name is mentioned among basketball greats. She appreciates the history of the sport and has talked about how kind one of her idols, UConn and Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore, was to her when Clark approached her as a child.
“Ten seconds can go a long way in someone's life…how you treat someone is very important in life,” Clark said. “You can make a long list of players who came before me and were able to grow the game and pave the way for us and break down barriers. Now we are having these opportunities and we are going to do the same with the younger generations.” “.
Stiles wants Clark to know how much others enjoy watching her do it.
“When someone is so dominant in their craft, it's inspiring,” Stiles said. “People like to see greatness, and I'm honored to be able to witness it too. I celebrated Kelsey's success and now I'm celebrating Caitlin's. And who knows what we'll see from the players who are now growing up and want to be like them.”
