Iowa's Caitlin Clark on pace for Pete Maravich NCAA scoring record - ESPN

After scoring a career-high 49 points Thursday, Iowa senior guard Caitlin Clark passed Kelsey Plum (3,527) to become the all-time leader in NCAA Division I women's basketball history at 3,569. With five more games left in the regular season, plus the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA tournament to follow, Clark isn't finished yet. And there might soon be more history in store for Clark.

Having surpassed Washington's Plum, Clark is closing in on Pete Maravich's men's Division I record of 3,667 points. At her current pace of 32.7 points per game this season, Clark would need four more games to pass Maravich, potentially putting the record in sight on Iowa's senior day against Ohio State on March 2 in the regular-season finale.

Although Maravich set his record in just three seasons, averaging a mind-boggling 44.2 points, it has stood for more than five decades since the NCAA made freshmen eligible in 1972. Taking advantage of the fifth year of eligibility for players affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Antoine Davis of Detroit Mercy made the closest run at Maravich, falling three points short when his career ended last year.

Now Clark — who could potentially return for a fifth season if she foregoes this year's WNBA draft — has a chance to become the leading scorer in Division I basketball history, men's or women's.

Because Davis played five seasons of college basketball, the leading scorers on the women's side are already tops when it comes to a four-season Division I career. Freeman Williams owns the record on the men's side. He scored 3,249 points at Portland State from 1974 to 1978. Five women have surpassed that total.

There's an interesting explanation for that. The length of the NCAA season has expanded at the same time