Caitlin Clark and the Iowa women's basketball celebrated an impressive performance by sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke, whose record-setting 47 points led the Hawkeyes to a 111-93 victory over Penn State on Thursday.

Clark, the Hawkeyes' star player, who herself is on the brink of breaking the NCAA women's basketball scoring record, praised Stuelke's performance, which was one point higher than Clark's record game of 46 points against Michigan in 2022. Despite not leading in scoring for the first time in nearly a year, Clark's 27 points and a season-high 15 assists contributed to Thursday's win.

“Tonight, I didn't shoot the ball well, but Hannah Stuelke played really well,” Clark said, via Michael Voepel of ESPN.

“Not at all. She can have it,” Clark added, when asked if she minded the Stuelke had surpassed her.

Stuelke's game as is the second-highest single-game score in the Iowa women's basketball history, one point behind Megan Gustafson's 48 points. Gustafson, who is currently playing for the Las Vegas Aces, set this record during a game against Minnesota in 2018.

Clark's pursuit of the NCAA scoring record is nearing its climax, with the senior guard just 39 points shy of setting a new benchmark. The duo of Clark and Stuelke has become a force to reckon with in women's college basketball, with both players achieving 40-point games in the same season—a rarity in major conference play over the past 25 years. Stuelke, whose previous career high was 22 points, credited Clark's confidence in her as a key factor.

“She just has a lot of confidence in me, and wants me to keep playing at my best,” Stuelke said. “I think my confidence is going to come up a lot. Now I can be more aggressive offensively. That's exciting.”

The last time Clark didn't lead the Hawkeyes in scoring was on Feb. 12, 2023, with Molly Davis scoring 17 points in a 111-57 victory against Rutgers, where Clark contributed 15 points. Additionally, there was only one other game last season where Clark wasn't the top scorer for Iowa, when Monika Czinano scored 36 points during an overtime win against Drake on Nov. 13, 2022.