Ohio State senior guard Kelsey Mitchell shoots a shot during the Buckeyes’ game against Washington on Nov. 19. Credit: Colin Hass-Hill | Sports Editor
Ohio State senior guard Kelsey Mitchell just keeps climbing the scoring record books.
During the third quarter of Sunday’s win against Penn State, Mitchell hit a free throw to surpass former Baylor forward Brittney Griner to become the No. 3 all-time scorer in women’s college basketball. She finished the game with 22 points to give her 3,286 career points.
Mitchell needs 108 points to pass former Southwest Missouri State guard Jackie Stiles, who sits in second with 3,393 career points.
This season, Mitchell averages 24.4 points per game. If the Buckeyes make the Big Ten championship game, she will have three conference tournament games. Those contests combined, with their games in the NCAA tournament, should allow Mitchell to pass Stiles to become the second-leading scorer in NCAA history.
However, Mitchell is unlikely to pass former Washington guard Kelsey Plum to become the all-time leading scorer in college basketball. She has a slim chance if the Buckeyes make an unexpected run to the Final Four, but would have to average more points per game than she has in any of her four collegiate seasons. Plum set the record last season when she ended her career with 3,527 points.
Mitchell holds the NCAA records for most 3s made and most 3-pointers attempted. She also has the longest streak of games with at least one made 3-pointer in NCAA history, which is ongoing.
The Mitchell-led Buckeyes will be back in action at noon Friday as the top seed in the Big Ten tournament. They will play the winner of the game between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds.
