After ending with 31 points in a defeat to Nebraska, Iowa’s Clark needs 8 more points to set the NCAA scoring record.

LINCOLN, Nebraska — After scoring 31 points in No. 2 Iowa’s 82-79 loss to Nebraska on Sunday, Caitlin Clark will have at least four more days to pursue her goal of breaking the NCAA women’s career scoring record.

The player of the generation who has elevated women’s basketball to a level never seen before was 39 points shy of breaking Kelsey Plum’s record of 3,527 points for Washington from 2013 to 2017.

Clark needs eight points to break the record after going scoreless for the final 12.5 minutes against Nebraska. She’s probably going to do it against Michigan on Thursday night in Iowa City.

“I’m not thinking about it right now,” Clark stated. For this team, it’s all about just improving, returning home, performing in front of our supporters, and playing the way we know we can. We’ll prepare for that with two practices. Yes, it will undoubtedly be unique. The primary goal at the moment is simply figuring out how to improve.

On X, the former name of Twitter, Plum, who is competing for Team USA in an Olympic qualifying event in Belgium, gave Clark an early congrats. In a matter of minutes, Plum rectified herself, writing, “My bad, next game.”

Six hours before tipoff, spectators started to line up to enter Pinnacle Bank Arena in below-freezing temperatures. In her nine games versus Nebraska, Clark had never finished with fewer than 30 points, and many fans arrived expecting to witness history being made.

The Huskers adapted their Clark defenses. Playing her straight up, Callin Hake, Jaz Shelley, and Kendall Moriarty alternated. In the second half, they switched to a box-and-one on her after using double teams high on her.

Late in the third quarter, when Nebraska committed a technical foul, Clark made two free throws to get within one point of the record. She didn’t score once again.

Clark finished with a 10-point shooting percentage (10 of 25 overall), missing her final six field goals (5 of 15).

Since early January, the game has been completely sold out, with ticket buyers requesting up to $2,000 on the secondary market for a lower bowl seat by the end of the week.

Ninety minutes before tipoff, a group of five adolescent girls in an end zone section began chanting “Caitlin Clark!” while they held up letters to spell out “CLARK.”

When Clark was first seen in the tunnel leading from the locker room to the court, the volume of the cheers rose. As she passed past, fans perched on the balcony stretched down, hoping for a hand slap. As Clark entered the floor while being accompanied by a security officer to start shooting drills, there was a standing ovation. Before teammates joined her, she shot for five minutes by herself.