Move over Caitlin; you’ve got company on a record-setting Thursday night

While most of the basketball world was transfixed on Iowa star Caitlin Clark’s pursuit of the NCAA scoring record, another record was being shattered about one thousand miles south of Iowa City. Francis-Marion University forward Lauryn Taylor pulled down 44 rebounds and scored a career-high 34 points as the Patriots rolled past North Greenville 85-62 in Florence on Thursday night. Her dominance on the glass set an NCAA single-game record for all divisions while blowing past the school record that had stood for 48 seasons.

Taylor’s rebounding almost matched Clark’s point total of 49 as the senior zoomed past Kelsey Plum’s mark of 3,527 points to establish a new NCAA standard with 3,569 career points. Clark has four regular-season games plus the Big 10 and NCAA tournaments to add to her record-setting point total.

Meanwhile, Taylor grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and 30 defensive boards to set a new standard on the glass.  The previous Division II record was 36 by Christine DeSaine of West Virginia Tech in a 1995 contest against Ohio Valley, while the Division I mark is 40 and the Division III record is 38. According to FMU, the Blythewood native broke the previous school record of 32 rebounds set by LaRue Fields in a 78–77 victory over the University of South Carolina on January 28, 1976. 

And speaking of USC, the Gamecocks beat Tennessee 66-55 in Knoxville for their 42nd consecutive regular-season SEC win, tying the league record.

Quite a night for women’s basketball.

FMU/North Greenville Box Score