It’s called ‘March Madness’ because every year the NCAA Tournament brings fans together to witness high-stakes games, shocking upsets, and emotional highs like no other. Yet, since the NCAA held its first D1 tournament in 1982, some players have left their lasting mark on this tournament regardless of whether they lifted the trophy. The first player kicking this list off has actually reached the same milestone thrice.

10. Caitlin Clark

Before winning Rookie of the Year in 2024, becoming a three-time All-Star, and the 2026 AP WNBA Comeback Player of the Year after averaging 22.3 points and 8.3 assists, Caitlin Clark delivered historic performances.

The former Iowa Hawkeyes star may sit at No. 10, but no one has reached the 41-point mark during March Madness more than Clark. The Indiana Fever guard delivered the NCAA tournament history’s first triple-double with 41 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds in the 2023 Elite Eight against Louisville, helping her team win 97-83.

Then, in the Final Four, she dropped her second 41-point performance as Iowa beat the South Carolina Gamecocks 77-73 on March 31, 2023. Clark racked up eight assists, sending Iowa to their first NCAA final.

Caitlin Clark is the ONLY women’s or men’s player in history with a 40-point triple-double in an NCAA tourney game 😱

🏀 41 PTS
🏀 10 REB
🏀 12 AST
🏀 3 STL
🏀 8-14 3-PT FG

In 2024, Clark repeated that feat for the third time in her final college basketball season against Louisiana State University. Clark knocked down nine three-pointers and racked up 12 assists in this Elite Eight game.

9. Elizabeth Kitley

Kitley comes in at ninth, scoring just one point more than Clark. The Virginia Tech Hokies center scored 42 points and eight rebounds and shot 16 of 27 from the field. Unfortunately for the No. 5 Hokies, that herculean performance wasn’t enough to clinch the first-round win in 2022. The No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles handed them an upset loss, winning the closely contested game 84-81.

8. Marissa Coleman

Unlike Kitley’s contribution to a losing effort, Maryland Terrapins guard Marissa Coleman led her team’s 18-point comeback win against the Vanderbilt Commodores in their 2009 Sweet Sixteen clash, winning 78-74.

Coleman dropped a double-double performance, scoring a game-high 42 points while racking up 15 rebounds. She also shot 15 of 27 from the field and a nearly perfect 10 of 11 from the free-throw line.

7. Barbara Kennedy

The Clemson forward poured in 43 points and 15 rebounds (as per Basketball Reference) in the first-ever NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament game.

Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions did much better as a unit, with six of their players scoring double digits. So despite her 43-point night, Kennedy couldn’t secure the win for Clemson as Penn State decisively beat them 96-75.

6. Candice Wiggins

Before Caitlin Clark scored at least 41 points back-to-back in March Madness games in 2023, Candice Wiggins was the only player to have scored over 40 points multiple times in the same NCAA Tournament.

In a lopsided second-round win over the University of Texas-El Paso, Wiggins scored 44 points. The Stanford Cardinal player then scored 41 points in the Elite Eight, sending her team to the Final Four of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

5. Sarah Ashlee Barker

The fifth highest scoring performance on this list is also the most recent one. In 2025, Alabama Crimson Tide guard Sarah Ashlee Barker poured 45 points, eight rebounds, and three assists against the Maryland Terrapins in their second-round game at XFINITY Center, College Park, Maryland.

Barker was also efficient with her shooting, going 17 of 25 from the field, including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc and 7 of 11 from the free-throw line. However, after a long double OT game, Alabama ultimately lost 111-108.

4. Kelsey Mitchell

The Indiana Fever guard and Caitlin Clark’s teammate scored 45 points in 2016 as the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated West Virginia 88-81 in the second round. Mitchell was exceptional from the free-throw line, scoring 18-of-22.

Imago

10 years down the line, Mitchell is as prolific as ever. She just ended the 2026 WNBA regular season as the second-highest average scorer. She scored 24.7 points per game, only behind 2026 MVP A’ja Wilson, who averaged 26.2. Meanwhile, Mitchell led the W in total points with 1,086.

3. Jayne Appel

One year after her teammate Candice Wiggins scored 44 points during March Madness, Jayne Appel raised the bar, dropping 46 points in the Cardinal’s Elite Eight clash against the Iowa State Cyclones.

Appel had a double-double game with 16 rebounds, while scoring 19 of 28 from the field. Just like Wiggins’ 44-point performance, this one was another dominant display by Stanford as they blew out the Cyclones 74-53.

2. Sheryl Swoopes

Swoopes is a legend for a reason. She was the first player to sign a WNBA contract, and one of only two players (A’ja Wilson is another) to win the WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year three times. Before she became a WNBA icon, Swoopes was equally prolific in college.

The Naismith Award winner scored 47 points on the night it mattered the most, giving the Texas Tech Lady Raiders their first NCAA Championship in 1993. Swoopes’ historic performance came in a hard-fought 84-82 game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

1. Lorri Bauman

Swoopes is the only player on this list who became the difference maker in an NCAA championship game. However, the highest-scorer crown belongs to Drake University’s Lorri Bauman.

Notably, Bauman set the benchmark in the first Division I women’s championship tournament in 1982. She went 21 for 35 from the field five years before the three-point line existed in basketball. Bauman also scored 8 of 11 from the free-throw line.

Even her 50-point performance couldn’t help Drake secure the win against Maryland as they lost the 1982 regional final 89-78. However, Bauman remained a prolific scorer throughout her college career (1980-84) and became the first woman in NCAAW history to reach the 3,000-career points benchmark.

With the 2026-27 NCAA college basketball season still in its early stages, these are some of the greatest individual scoring performances to keep in mind before another edition of March Madness comes along. Who knows? Maybe the next record setter is already out there competing.