How Caitlin Clark and Elena Delle Donne sprinted to 2,000 points in only 75 games

Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne became the fastest women’s player in NCAA DI history to reach 2,000 career points when she scored  in her 75th career game.

Now, more than 10 years later, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark has matched Delle Donne with a 20-point effort in a victory over Dartmouth on Dec. 21, 2022, also in her 75th career game. Her 2,000th-career points came on a 3-pointer in the first half.

"Elena Delle Donne, she was a person I idolized growing up," Clark said after eclipsing the milestone. "I have her shoes in my locker." 

We thought it would be fun to compare how each player reached the 2K mark. I looked at both players' journeys to 2,000 and here are some of the things that stood out:

• Their scoring averages are almost identical. Delle Donne averaged 26.7 points at Delaware; Clark averages 26.8 a night almost halfway through her junior season.
• Clark notched her 1,000 point in her 40th game last season, again following Delle Donne who accomplished the feat in 38 games. 
• Delle Donne won the scoring title once (2012) in her collegiate career. Clark won back-to-back years (2021, 2022) and is currently third in the country in scoring. 
• Both players earned their 2,000th career points on 3-pointers.

Here's more on how each player reached 2,000.

Delle Donne finished her freshman season with 774 points, which includes a career-high performance of 54 points. After battling injury as a sophomore, she still became the fastest player hitting over 2,000 toward the end of her junior season in February 2012. The current WNBA superstar ranks ninth in NCAA DI women’s all-time scoring with 3,039 points. 

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭, 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤 🤩
The moment she netted No. 2,000!

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB)

Here’s a look at Delle Donne’s career at Delaware: 

HISTORY: Winningst programs in DI women's basketball 

Comparatively, Clark has totaled more points than Delle Donne in her first two seasons; though the Delaware legend's junior 927 holds 14th place in the record book for single-season scoring. Clark hit a career-high 46 points in her sophomore campaign and has reached at least 40 four total times. 

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK Caitlin Clark autographs her shoes and gives them to a fan after the game in which she scored her 2,000th career points.

Here are the Hawkeye guard's stats: 

*games through Dec. 21, 2022

With 16 games left in the regular season, Clark is on pace to finish with 2,445 total points, not including conference or NCAA tournament games. Barring injury, that model would have Clark closing her NCAA career with over 3,000 points — which only 13 other NCAA DI women's players have done. Delle Donne reached the milestone in under 115 games. 

These are the all-time leading scorers in women's DI college basketball: