Caitlin Clark did it in the most spectacular way possible. And she was showered with love from Hawkeye fans well after the final buzzer sounded.

In No. 4 Iowa’s 106-89 win over Michigan on Thursday night, Clark poured in a career-high and Iowa program record 49 points to move past Kelsey Plum and officially take the No. 1 spot atop the all-time NCAA women’s basketball scoring leaderboard. She entered the evening eight points shy of the record. She scored Iowa’s first eight points of the game, and the 3-pointer that gave her the record came from just beyond the Hawkeye logo at center court.

After the game ended, the sold-out crowd inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena chanted “one more year” to Clark, a fourth-year senior who can take advantage of the free year from COVID and return next season. Her teammates donned commemorative Nike shirts that featured Clark’s name and number on the back, as well as a tagline from Nike on the front — “You break it, you own it.” As they celebrated on the floor, they held up a double truck from The Des Moines Register that featured a shot of Clark smiling under the word “Unmatched.”

“It’s pretty unreal,” Clark told the NBC broadcast crew afterward. “This crowd’s unreal. I’m just really grateful honestly to be able to be here and make so many of my dreams come true with so many amazing people who have supported me. I’m just filled with a lot of gratitude.”

Added Iowa coach Lisa Bluder: “She picked a great night to do it. We’re gonna celebrate Caitlin tonight because she deserves it. What she’s done to help uplift our program and women’s basketball nationally is spectacular. I love that she hit a logo 3 to put her over the top, too.”

Clark had 23 points at the end of the first quarter, helping Iowa to a 33-22 lead. She hit eight of her first 10 shots, including five from 3-point range. The NCAA’s leading scorer came out scorching hot to begin the game, and Michigan simply had no answer.

Clark also finished with 13 assists and five rebounds. It was her 18th career game with at least 30 points and 10 assists. It was also the sixth time in her Iowa career she has registered at least 40 points, five assists, and five boards in a game. According to Iowa, the rest of Division I has three such games during the same time.

A singular star.

“When you do it, you do it well, girl,” Bluder said. “The attention, the fans that have come out and supported us. This record is gonna stand for a long time. I’m just so glad she’s wearing black and gold.”

And she got to do it in front of the Iowa crowd. She got to make history just a short drive from where she grew up in West Des Moines.

“Never stop dreaming because you can achieve way more than you ever thought,” Clark said. “I get to live that every single day, and I still keep dreaming.”