On the biggest stages, big-time players turn in big-time performances. In college basketball, no stage is bigger than the national championship game.
Iowa's Caitlin Clark fits the description of a big-time player and her performance in the 2024 national championship game is yet another reminder that she is worthy of the billing. By erupting for a championship game-record 18 points in the opening quarter, Clark put her name on the all-time leaderboard for a second time after scoring 30 points in 2023.
Here is a list of the highest-scoring games in the NCAA championship game.
MORE: Full results, highlights from Iowa vs. South Carolina NCAA championship game
Most individual points in an NCAA championship game
Sheryl Swoopes owns the record for most points in an NCAA championship game. Swoopes scored 47 points to lead Texas Tech to the 1993 title.
Swoopes is the only player to score 40 points in an NCAA championship game but three players have scored 30-plus points with a national title on the line. Among them is Clark, who did so in back-to-back years.
| Player | Points | Year | |
| 1. | Sheryl Swoopes, Texas Tech | 47 | 1993 |
| 2. | Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame | 31 | 2019 |
| 3. | Danielle Adams, Texas A&M | 30 | 2011 |
| Caitlin Clark, Iowa | 30 | 2023 | |
| Caitlin Clark, Iowa | 30 | 2024 | |
| 5. | Dena Head, Tennessee | 28 | 1991 |
| Dawn Staley, Virginia | 28 | 1991 | |
| Katie Smith, Ohio State | 28 | 1993 | |
| Ruth Riley, Notre Dame | 28 | 2001 | |
| Diana Taurasi, UConn | 28 | 2003 |
Interestingly, three of the top five performances have come in losing efforts as Clark and the Hawkeyes fell to LSU in 2023 and South Carolina in 2024. Ogunbowale's Irish suffered a one-point loss to Baylor in 2019.
In addition to her place on the single-game leaderboard, Clark became the NCAA Tournament's all-time scoring leader, surpassing Chamique Holdsclaw, who scored 479 points in 22 tournament games. Clark's record came in six fewer appearances.
