# List of NCAA Division I women's basketball career scoring leaders
The [NCAA Division I](https://www.edgepedia.org/ncaa-division-i) women's basketball career scoring leaders are the players with the highest cumulative points totals in official NCAA statistics, a record-keeping era that began with the 1981-82 season. The career record is held by Caitlin Clark of Iowa, who finished her 2021-24 career with 3,951 points.[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Career points record | 3,951, Caitlin Clark, Iowa, 2021-24 (1,293 field goals, 548 three-point field goals, 817 free throws, 139 games)[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf) |
| Career scoring average record | 28.4 points per game, Clark (3,951 in 139 games)[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf) |
| Previous NCAA record | 3,527, Kelsey Plum, Washington, 2013-17; Clark passed it on February 15, 2024[2](https://apnews.com/article/12e078352a92fe2effb307888775cdb0) |
| Pre-NCAA women's marks | 3,649, Lynette Woodard, Kansas, 1977-81 (AIAW); 4,061, Pearl Moore, Francis Marion, 1975-79[2](https://apnews.com/article/12e078352a92fe2effb307888775cdb0) |
| Season points record | 1,234, Clark, Iowa, 2024 (403 FGs, 201 3FGs, 227 FTs, 39 games)[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf) |
| Season scoring average record | 33.6, Patricia Hoskins, Mississippi Valley State, 1989 (908 points in 27 games)[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf) |
| Cross-gender milestone | Clark became the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer across men's and women's basketball on March 3, 2024, passing Pete Maravich[3](https://www.ncaa.org/news/2024/2/28/features-caitlin-clark-joins-rare-company-to-hold-ncaa-records-across-mens-and-womens-basketball) • [7](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/caitlin-clark-ncaa-division-1-record-pete-maravich/) |
## Scope of the official record
Official NCAA women's basketball records began with the 1981-82 season and are based on information submitted to the NCAA statistics service by institutions participating in the weekly statistics rankings. For a career record to count, a player must have competed at least three seasons (in a four-season career) or two seasons (in a three-season career) in Division I during the era of official NCAA statistics.[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf)
The statistical categories themselves were phased in. Assists were added in 1985-86, and three-point field goals, blocked shots, and steals were added in 1987-88. Scoring, rebounding, assists, blocked shots, and steals are ranked both on total number and on per-game average.[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf) The 2021 season was abbreviated for many teams because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the record book's minimum for inclusion that year was 13 games.[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf)
## The record's progression to Caitlin Clark
**Kelsey Plum** set the NCAA Division I women's record with 3,527 points in four seasons at Washington from 2013 to 2017.[2](https://apnews.com/article/12e078352a92fe2effb307888775cdb0) Plum also holds the career record for free throws made, 912 on 1,036 attempts (88.0 percent).[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf)
**Caitlin Clark's** pursuit of the record culminated on February 15, 2024, in Iowa's 106-89 win over Michigan at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. She needed eight points to pass Plum and scored them in under three minutes, doing so with a 35-foot three-pointer from near the court logo with 7:45 left in the first quarter. She finished the night with a school-record 49 points, nine three-pointers, and 13 assists, bringing her total to 3,569 points.[2](https://apnews.com/article/12e078352a92fe2effb307888775cdb0) Clark set the record in 126 games, 13 fewer than Plum needed.[2](https://apnews.com/article/12e078352a92fe2effb307888775cdb0)
By the end of her senior season Clark had 3,951 points, a career average of 28.4, and the top marks in career field goals made (1,293), career three-point field goals made (548), and career three-point attempts (1,452).[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf) Her 2024 season total of 1,234 points is also the single-season record, and she holds the record for consecutive games scoring in double figures among the recent leaders, with 138.[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf) She additionally set the record for most points in the NCAA women's basketball tournament.[4](https://time.com/6964487/caitlin-clark-ncaa-championship-legacy/)
## Pre-NCAA leaders
Before the NCAA governed women's collegiate basketball, the sport was administered by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), and the NCAA maintains a separate section of pre-1982 statistical leaders.[5](https://fs.ncaa.org.s3.amazonaws.com/Docs/stats/w_final_four_records_book/AIAW.pdf) Two of those marks remain points of comparison:
- **Lynette Woodard** scored 3,649 points at Kansas from 1977 to 1981, a major women's college record at the time. Clark passed this total in late February 2024, one game after breaking Plum's NCAA record.[2](https://apnews.com/article/12e078352a92fe2effb307888775cdb0) • [3](https://www.ncaa.org/news/2024/2/28/features-caitlin-clark-joins-rare-company-to-hold-ncaa-records-across-mens-and-womens-basketball)
- **Pearl Moore** of Francis Marion holds the overall women's collegiate record with 4,061 points from 1975 to 1979.[2](https://apnews.com/article/12e078352a92fe2effb307888775cdb0)
Both Woodard and Moore played before the three-point line was introduced, a scoring-context difference the record's observers note when comparing eras.[2](https://apnews.com/article/12e078352a92fe2effb307888775cdb0)
## Context and comparisons
When Clark passed Maravich's total, the NCAA noted that she had become the Division I all-time leading scorer across men's and women's basketball, surpassing the mark of [Pete Maravich](https://www.edgepedia.org/pete-maravich), the LSU star whose 1970 record had stood as the NCAA scoring high for more than five decades.[3](https://www.ncaa.org/news/2024/2/28/features-caitlin-clark-joins-rare-company-to-hold-ncaa-records-across-mens-and-womens-basketball) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/3fca5f79c0bcd0182e6d1d6f13f90f08) • [7](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/caitlin-clark-ncaa-division-1-record-pete-maravich/) Maravich's total was set in 83 games across three seasons (1967-70) in an era with no shot clock and no three-point line.[6](https://apnews.com/article/3fca5f79c0bcd0182e6d1d6f13f90f08)
The record book also captures how scoring volume has concentrated in recent seasons. Clark's 2024 season included 532 three-point attempts, a single-season record, and her career average of 10.45 three-point attempts per game is the Division I high among players with at least 700 attempts.[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf) Among other career marks adjacent to the scoring list, Kelsey Mitchell of Ohio State scored in double figures in 137 consecutive games and made a three-pointer in 92 consecutive games from January 2, 2016, to March 19, 2018.[1](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf)
## References
1. [NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Record Book, Individual Leaders](https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/D1.pdf)
2. [Caitlin Clark of Iowa breaks the NCAA women's career scoring record with a signature 'logo 3', Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/12e078352a92fe2effb307888775cdb0)
3. [Caitlin Clark joins rare company to hold NCAA records across men's and women's basketball, NCAA.org](https://www.ncaa.org/news/2024/2/28/features-caitlin-clark-joins-rare-company-to-hold-ncaa-records-across-mens-and-womens-basketball)
4. [Even After Championship Loss, Caitlin Clark's Legacy Is Untarnished, Time](https://time.com/6964487/caitlin-clark-ncaa-championship-legacy/)
5. [Pre-NCAA Statistical Leaders (AIAW), NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book](https://fs.ncaa.org.s3.amazonaws.com/Docs/stats/w_final_four_records_book/AIAW.pdf)
6. [For some, Pete Maravich's NCAA scoring mark cannot be eclipsed by Caitlin Clark or anyone else, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/3fca5f79c0bcd0182e6d1d6f13f90f08)
7. [Caitlin Clark passes "Pistol" Pete Maravich's record to become all-time NCAA Division I scoring leader](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/caitlin-clark-ncaa-division-1-record-pete-maravich/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › US college basketball (NCAA, NAIA)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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