List of NCAA Division I women's basketball season 3-point field goal leaders

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A three-point field goal (also known as a "three-pointer" or "3-pointer") is a field goal in a basketball game, made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc radiating from the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two points awarded for shots made inside the three-point line. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) keeps records of the Division I 3-point field goal makes per game (3PG) average annual leaders. The statistic was first recognized in Division I women's basketball in the 1987–88 season, when the NCAA made the three-pointer a mandatory feature throughout women's basketball.[1] From the 1987–88 season through the 2007–08 men's season, the three-point perimeter was marked at 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) for both men's and women's college basketball.[2][3] After the 2007–08 season, the NCAA moved the men's three-point line back to 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m), while the women's line remained the same.[2][3] The women's line would be moved back to match the men's line effective with the 2011–12 season.[3] On June 5, 2019, the NCAA men's rules committee voted to extend the men's three-point line to the FIBA distance of 6.75 meters (22 ft 2 in), effective in 2019–20 in Division I and 2020–21 in lower NCAA divisions. The women's line remained at 20 ft 9 in[4][3] until being moved to the FIBA arc in 2021–22.[5]

NCAA record books list single-season three-point record holders both on overall and per-game bases, but the official season leaders are based solely on per-game average. Taylor Pierce of Idaho currently holds the NCAA single-season record for per-game average, with 4.53 in 2018–19.[1] The single-season record for most threes is held by Caitlin Clark of Iowa, with 173 in the 2023–24 season entering the NCAA tournament; she is on pace to break Pierce's record for per-game average, with 5.24 per game.[6] The all-time leader for career threes, Taylor Robertson of Oklahoma with 537 in a career spanning from 2018 to 2023, led the country twice (2019–20 and 2021–22). The player with the highest 3PG average over the span of her entire career (with a minimum of 150 made threes) is Alabama State's Lisa McMullen, who made 4.00 per game over two years.[1]

Key[edit]

3-point field goals per game[edit]

Season Player Pos. Cl. Team Games
played
3-point
field goals
3PG
1987–88 Gwen Davis G Jr Bethune–Cookman 26 111 4.27
1988–89 Marguerite Moran G Sr Hofstra 29 107 3.69
1989–90 Sandi Bittler G Sr Princeton 22 89 4.05
1990–91 Lisa McMullen G Jr Alabama State 28 126 4.5
1991–92 Lynda Kukla G Sr Valparaiso 27 101 3.74
1992–93 Suzie Dailer G So St. Bonaventure 27 99 3.67
1993–94 Autumn Hollyfield G Jr Cal State Fullerton 27 110 4.07
1994–95 Cornelia Gayden G Sr LSU 27 105 3.89
1995–96 Tara Gunderson G Jr Iowa State 27 93 3.44
1996–97 Brenna Doty G Sr Buffalo 28 98 3.5
1997–98 Julie Krommenhoek G Sr Utah 27 98 3.63
1998–99 Courtney Banghart G Jr Dartmouth 28 97 3.46
1999–00 Shrieka Evans G Fr Grambling 30 120 4
2000–01 Shrieka Evans (2) G So Grambling 29 111 3.83
2001–02 Laurie Koehn G Fr Kansas State 34 122 3.59
2002–03 Amy Waugh G Sr Xavier 30 107 3.57
2003–04 Joy Gallagher G So Wagner 28 99 3.54
2004–05 Jenny Conkle G Jr Belmont 28 87 3.11
2005–06 Toni Kennedy G Sr Maryland Eastern Shore 29 100 3.45
2006–07 Chelsey Warburton G Sr Weber State 31 103 3.32
2007–08 Sade Logan G Jr Robert Morris 33 126 3.82
2008–09 Kristi Dini G Sr Boston University 33 109 3.3
2009–10 Chynna Bozeman G Jr Montana State 33 121 3.67
2010–11 Katie Tull G So Charleston 30 107 3.57
2011–12 Diana Choibekova G Jr Winthrop 31 121 3.9
2012–13 Morgan Eye G So Missouri 32 112 3.5
2013–14 Kyndal Clark G Jr Drake 32 116 3.63
2014–15 Melissa Dixon G Sr Iowa 34 124 3.65
2015–16 Kiyanna Black G Sr Ohio 33 126 3.82
2016–17 Tori Jankoska G Sr Michigan State 33 122 3.70 
2017–18 Toshua Levitt G Jr Texas State 31 137 4.42 
2018–19 Taylor Pierce G Sr Idaho 34 154 4.53 
2019–20 Taylor Robertson G So Oklahoma 30 131 4.37 
2020–21 Sydney Wagner G Jr William & Mary 13[a] 51[a] 3.92 
2021–22 Taylor Robertson (2) G Sr Oklahoma 34 124 3.65 
2022–23 Caitlin Clark^ G Jr Iowa 38 140 3.68 
2023–24 Caitlin Clark^ (2) G Sr Iowa 35 181 5.17 

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Due to the effects of COVID-19 on teams' abilities to play full regular-season schedules, the NCAA allowed for a lower games played requirement to be the season 3FGM leader. Specifically, the NCAA used a threshold of 13 games played, which was the minimum number of regular-season contests required for a team to be eligible to play in the 2021 NCAA tournament.

References[edit]

General
  • "2020–21 NCAA Women's Basketball Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
Specific
  1. ^ a b c "2020–21 Division I Women's Basketball Records" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "2019–20 NCAA Men's Basketball Playing Rules History" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "2020–21 NCAA Women's Basketball Playing Rules History" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  4. ^ "Men's basketball 3-point line extended to international distance" (Press release). NCAA. June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  5. ^ "International 3-point line distance approved in women's basketball" (Press release). NCAA. June 3, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "Caitlin Clark". Sports Reference CBB. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 10, 2024.