Caitlin Clark 51 Points Away From Breaking Pete Maravich's 3,667 Career NCAA Scoring Mark

Iowa superstar guard Caitlin Clark needs 51 points to break Pistol Pete Maravich's NCAA all-time career-scoring record of 3,667 points set in three seasons from 1967-70 for LSU. Freshmen were not eligible at the time.

Clark has 3,617 in her fourth season after scoring 24 points in No. 4 Iowa's 101-85 win over Illinois on Sunday afternoon in front of 14,998 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Clark and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder must not be too worried about breaking the record. Clark sat out the final 2:55 of the game.

She can break the mark Wednesday when Iowa (24-4, 13-3 Big Ten) plays at Minnesota (15-12, 5-11 Big Ten) at 9 p.m. on Peacock. And 51 points is just two more than Clark's career high, which was 49 in a 106-89 win over Michigan on Feb. 15.

No. 4 Iowa Plays No. 2 Ohio State On Sunday On FOX 

But for cinematic purposes, it would be better for Clark to break the record Sunday when Iowa hosts No. 2 Ohio State (23-3, 14-1 Big Ten) in the regular-season finale (1 p.m., FOX). Perhaps, this is why she sat out the final minutes with the game in hand?

Iowa point guard Caitlin Clark hits one of her five 3-pointers in Iowa's 101-85 win over Illinois on Sunday. (Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports)

Clark's 24-point afternoon was six points below her average and marked her third time not to reach the 30s over the last five games. But she proved once again how complete a player she is. Clark produced her fifth triple-double this season and 16th of her career as she grabbed 15 rebounds from the point guard spot - two short of her career high - and distributed 10 assists.

"She's getting rebounds, and she's passing the ball to us, and we're knocking the shots down," Iowa senior guard Kate Martin said on FS1, which televised the game. She scored 13 points with six rebounds.

Caitlin Clark Was All Over The Court

Clark hit 6 of 18 shots from the field, including 5 of 14 from 3-point range and was 7 of 8 on free throws.

"I could tell she was maybe going to get a triple-double with how many rebounds she had," Martin said. "Every time I looked, she was getting a new rebound, so I was really impressed with that."

Clark turned down open shots from close range several times to pass off to an opponent for an assist. In addition to leading the nation in scoring (32.4), Clark is No. 1 in 3-point field goals made a game at 5.3. The 3-point shot was not available when Maravich played.

Clark also leads the country in assists with 8.5 a game and in triple-doubles with five.

"I mean, it just shows that she's not just a scorer," Martin said. "And that she can do other things. And that's super impressive."

If Clark breaks Maravich's record, she will break the unofficial women's all-time scorer's career mark as well. Lynette Woodard of Kansas scored 3,649 points from 1977-81 when the women's game operated under the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). That ended after the 1983 season. The NCAA does not recognize Woodard's record.

Clark is not expected to break another women's scoring record not recognized by the NCAA. Pearl Moore of Division II Francis Marion in Florence, South Carolina, scored 4,061 points from 1975-79.