Kelsey Plum is in the news for not-so-good reasons. Her coach at Las Vegas Aces, Becky Hammon, screamed at her during the team's semifinal Game 2 to the New York Liberty, another loss. But the career achievements of Kelsey Plum are incredible enough to light up the faces of her fans, anytime.
Plum was named WNBA All-Star game MVP in 2022 and WNBA All-Star thrice. Her achievements in college are equally stunning and have earned her various accolades.
Kelsey Plum played for the Washington Huskies from 2013 to 2017. In her 139 games for the program, she averaged 25.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
In her senior year, Plum was even more unforgiving to her opponents. She averaged 31.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and shot 52.9% from the field and 42.8% from the 3-point range.
On February 25, 2017, Plum broke the 16-year-old record of Jackie Stiles by becoming the all-time leading NCAA Division I scorer. And Plum did it in style. Stiler's record stood at 3393 points and Plum needed 54 points to surpass it in the upcoming game.
She scored 57 points in an 84-77 victory against Utah.
Kelsey Plum bid goodbye to college basketball tallying 3527 points, 596 rebounds, and 523 assists. She was unanimously named to the Associated Press All-American First Team in 2017.
She was also named AP Women's Basketball Player of the Year and won the Dawn Staley Award, Naismith Trophy, and Nancy Lieberman Award.
However, Plum fell short of being a member of the '180 club'. Players who average at least 50% in a field goal percentage, 40% from a 3-point range, and at least 90% from the free throw line in a season are part of the 180 club.
However, Plum shot 52.9% from the field, and 42.8 % from the 3-point range during her senior season with Huskies. Meanwhile, her free throw percentage stood at 88.7% during the season.
Kelsey Plum was happy about Caitlin Clark breaking her record
Plum was the leading NCAA Division I scorer before Caitlin Clark shattered the record this year. In February, when Caitlin Clark came near to breaking her record, Plum shared excitement, (via ESPN)
"I'm actually very grateful to pass that baton. I'm very happy for her," Plum said, "If anything, make sure that we show her love outside of her performance. She'll break it. I'm excited for her."
But Kelsey Plum recounted how the pressure from the media had stressed her when she was about to break the record in 2017. She urged the media to have empathy and see Clark as a woman with emotions.
Caitlin Clark ended her college career with 3951 points. Later, she was drafted by Indiana Fever as the No.1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.
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