Many roads on the journey to historical moments are full of ups and downs, winding along a rollercoaster of failures until arriving in the record books.

But then there’s Caitlin Clark’s. Hers has been pretty perfect from the start.

Thursday marked her 126th game in an Iowa jersey, and her 126th game as the most feared scorer in whatever arena her Hawkeyes were playing in. Along the way, she’s compiled enough highlights and eye-popping performances to fill her own wing in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

While her team has experienced shortcomings, most notably on the biggest of March stages, those blemishes have rarely been the fault of No. 22. So in celebration of Clark surpassing Kelsey Plum’s NCAA women’s record of 3,527 career points, here are some of the most notable highlights of Clark’s career thus far.

Nov. 25, 2020: A dominant debut

“I set my goals pretty high,” she said. “I wouldn’t say I’m shocked, but it’s a good start to the season for sure.”

Those were the words of an 18-year-old Caitlin Clark who just scored 27 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished four assists and drained three 3-pointers in her first college game, a 96-81 win over Northern Iowa. She, of course, was the game’s leading scorer.

A week later, Clark made her second game a second highlight. She torched Drake for 30 points and 13 assists, her first of what would become 52 30-point performances, the most in NCAA history.

“We’ve recruited her for so long,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said after Clark’s debut. “We’ve been looking for this day for so long.”

Dec. 22, 2020: First triple-double

It only took Clark six games to notch a triple-double, and poetically it came in one of her worst games ever. On a night Clark shot just 3-of-15 from the field, she logged 13 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with 13 points to tally her first of 15 career triple-doubles.

Since that game, Clark has only scored fewer points one other time — an eight-point performance four games later in that freshman season. But that first triple-double highlighted her star playmaking potential, a skill she’d develop to the tune of over 1,000 career assists.

Feb. 23, 2021: First meeting with Angel Reese

Before Angel Reese was Angel Reese, this February showing of Clark’s was notable for being her fifth consecutive game with 30-plus points. It also marked Clark’s coming out party as an elite sharpshooter, as she hit a then-career-high nine 3s.

Clark’s scorching stretch featured a 39-point performance against Nebraska two games prior. Against Maryland on Feb. 23, Clark scored 29 of her eventual 34 points in the first half before the Terrapins came back to win in the second half.

On Maryland’s bench sat a 19-year-old Reese, who was making her return from a Jones fracture suffered two months prior. Reese scored eight points in 11 minutes, then led Maryland on back-to-back NCAA Tournament runs before transferring to LSU in 2022.

March 27, 2021: Clark vs. Bueckers

On the heels of a loss in the Big Ten tournament title game — to Maryland and Reese — Clark announced herself on the national stage in the NCAA Tournament. She powered Iowa to a first-round win against Central Michigan and then hung 35 points on Kentucky to boost the Hawkeyes to the Sweet 16.

There, she ran into UConn and fellow megastar freshman Paige Bueckers. The first-seeded Huskies walloped Iowa 92-72 along their route to the Final Four, but Clark outscored Bueckers 21 points to 18. While the pair split freshman of the year honors, Clark finished her first season averaging 26.6 points, 7.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game, the highest scoring average in the nation.

Jan. 2, 2022: First 40-point game

Compared to the first month of her freshman season, the first month of Clark’s sophomore campaign seemed pedestrian. But she cranked up her production as the calendar flipped into 2022, opening the year with a 44-point outing against Evansville. Clark and the Hawkeyes were coming off a disappointing upset loss to IUPUI, in which Clark scored 19 points.

The guard came out firing against Evansville, notching a career high and surpassing the 1,000 career point mark in her 40th game.

Jan. 20, 2022: Back-to-back triple doubles

As conference play ramped up, Clark’s play reached elite levels in mid-January. The sophomore posted back-to-back 30-point triple-doubles, firstly against Nebraska on Jan. 16 (31 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds) then another four days later against Minnesota (35 points, 11 assists, 13 rebounds).

She became the first player in NCAA DI history to accomplish that feat.

Jan. 28, 2022: Career-high 18 assists

Clark is the most notable women’s scorer in history, but nights like Jan. 28, 2022, remind you that she’s just as gifted a passer. Against Penn State on the road, Clark dropped 18 dimes against the Nittany Lions, tallying a 20-point, 18-assist double-double. The 18 assists set a new school single-game record.

Feb. 6, 2022: Career-high 46 points

That Evansville performance proved to just be the start of an indomitable stretch of scoring for Clark. She notched five more 30-point performances that month, including a 43-point detonation against Ohio State on Jan. 31.

Then, two games later, she upped the ante again, laying down 46 points on the road against Michigan. That would remain her career high for over two years, until Thursday night.

Oh… my… goodness. @CaitlinClark22 #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/GWkkay66hc

— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 7, 2022

March 6, 2022: Big Ten champs

Clark and the Hawkeyes finished off the 2022 Big Ten tournament with a 74-67 win over Indiana. While Clark struggled in the title game — scoring 18 points on 17 shots — she totaled 41 points the night before to take down Nebraska.

It was her highest-scoring output against the Cornhuskers, a team Clark has scored more points against than any other program.

Iowa’s season ended soon after, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after being upset by Creighton. Clark finished her sophomore season with averages of 27.0 points, 8.0 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game and was named a unanimous first-team All-American.

Dec. 1, 2022: Clarks hangs 45 on NC State

Clark’s junior season got off to a dominant start, posting 45 points on 16-of-28 shooting against NC State in the Hawkeyes’ eighth game of the season. The very next game, Clark put up a 22-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double against Wisconsin to break the Big Ten career triple-doubles record.

Clark went on to top 40 points three more times that season.

Dec. 21, 2022: 2,000 points

In her 75th career game, Clark scored 20 points to surpass 2,000 career points, tying Elena Delle Donne for reaching that milestone fastest.

Feb. 26, 2023: Game-winner vs. Indiana

In Iowa’s final regular-season game of 2022-23, Clark dethroned No. 2 Indiana with a breathtaking, game-winning, buzzer-beating 3. She finished the night with 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Just over a week later, Clark led Iowa to its second-straight Big Ten tournament win with a 30-point, 17-assist, 10-rebound triple-double against Ohio State in the final, the first triple-double ever in the Big Ten tournament final.

OH MY GOD!! THE BUZZER BEATER 3 BY CC!!!!@CaitlinClark22 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/IEAohn8ZbF

— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) February 26, 2023

March 31, 2023: Clark stuns the world vs. South Carolina

Following Iowa’s Big Ten tournament win, Clark led the Hawkeyes on a captivating NCAA Tournament run. She scored 31 against Colorado in the Sweet 16, then put up a triple-double with 41 points against Louisville in the Elite Eight to set up a showdown with Dawn Staley’s dynastic South Carolina program in the Final Four.

Clark powered the underdog Hawkeyes to a shocking upset behind her second-straight 41-point performance, breaking the semifinal single-game scoring record and snapping South Carolina’s 42-game winning streak.

The scoring output launched Iowa into its first-ever championship game.

April 2, 2023: The Clark-Reese showdown

Despite Clark’s 30 points and NCAA title-game record eight 3-pointers, Iowa fell to LSU, which was led by Reese’s 15 points and 10 rebounds.

In the final minutes of the game, Reese made John Cena’s “you can’t see me” gesture toward Clark, then pointed at her ring finger. The taunt mimicked a similar gesture Clark had made earlier in the tournament.

Although Reese received criticism for the gesture, Clark supported her rival and said she has “nothing but respect” for the LSU star.

While Reese was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player, Clark broke multiple NCAA Tournament records with 191 points and 60 assists.

Oct. 15, 2023: The Caitlin Clark effect

Clark’s senior campaign featured record-breaking performances before the season even began.

On Oct. 15, 2023, Iowa faced DePaul in a preseason exhibition game that drew 55,646 fans, the most-attended game in women’s basketball history. Once the season began, Clark’s games at Iowa and on the road led to more and more sellout crowds, with multiple schools breaking attendance records with Clark coming to town.

These road attendance numbers are astounding for @IowaWBB this year. @TheAthleticWBB pic.twitter.com/5QDfFyo8Qg

— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) January 30, 2024

Nov. 12, 2023: Iowa’s all-time leading scorer

In the Hawkeyes’ third game of the season, Clark recorded her 12th career triple-double and surpassed Megan Gustafson as Iowa’s all-time leading scorer.

A week later, Clark broke Plum’s NCAA women’s record for most career 30-point games, as she scored 35 against Drake.

Dec. 6, 2023: 3,000 career points

With a 35-point performance against Iowa State, Clark became the 15th player in DI history to reach 3,000 points, and the second-fastest to hit the mark.

Jan. 2, 2024: Game-winner vs. Michigan State

Clark clinched her second 40-point outing of the season with a buzzer-beating, game-winning 3 from far beyond the arc to take down Michigan State.

Every Caitlin Clark highlight from her 40 point game against Michigan State. pic.twitter.com/YF07bMPsJK

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 3, 2024

Jan. 21, 2024: 45 points vs. Ohio State

In her record-breaking season, Clark tallied her season high with 45 points against Ohio State in an overtime loss. After the game, a Buckeyes fan celebrating on the court collided with Clark. Ohio State, like many Iowa opponents, had set an attendance record with over 18,000 fans for that game to watch Clark.

The performance was her 11th career 40-point game.

Feb. 11, 2024: 1,000 career assists

Clark became the sixth player in Division I women’s history to reach 1,000 career assists.

Two weeks earlier, Clark’s 35-point outing against Northwestern had boosted her past Kelsey Mitchell for the Big Ten all-time scoring record.

Feb. 15, 2024: Clark makes history, and then more history

Every basketball-watching eye in the nation was fixed on Clark’s matchup versus Michigan. She needed just eight points to pass Plum’s all-time mark, and Clark wasted no time making history.

After tallying the record-breaking points on a signature deep 3, on just her third shot of the game, Clark didn’t let off the gas. She had 23 points in the first quarter and raced past Gustafson’s school single-game scoring record in the fourth quarter, exiting to a standing ovation after 49 points on 16-of-31 shooting, including 9-of-18 from 3. She dished 13 assists for good measure too.

Required reading

(Photo: Matthew Holst / Getty Images)