In the world of women’s college basketball, Kelsey Plum has become a household name. The University of Washington senior guard led her Huskies to a Final Four berth last year — the first in school history — and has continued to set record after record.
But even by her lofty standards, it has been a good week. On Jan. 9, it was announced that Plum had won PAC 12 Player of the Week for the 3rd time this season, but it was two days later that the dam broke and Twitter became abuzz with Plum-mania.
First she was named Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week, then she was named to the Wooden Award Mid-Season Top-25, and then the real fun started.
There were murmurs around social media comparing Plum’s game to college players of the past, but all other comparisons were put to rest when Bleacher Report tweeted out the following video:
Meet the James Harden of women's hoops.
Washington guard Kelsey Plum draws comparisons with her scoring ability pic.twitter.com/jmyVrmyxmv
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 11, 2017
The tweet quickly went viral, being re-tweeted over 8,000 times, and led to the following exchange:
@JHarden13 what's good? Lol https://t.co/LvIFvL8Dv7
— Kelsey Plum (@Kelseyplum10) January 11, 2017
I see you Plum👀 #LuckyLefty's !
— James Harden (@JHarden13) January 11, 2017
Thank you! Go dawgs tho 😝😈 https://t.co/BRngDNxkXV
— Kelsey Plum (@Kelseyplum10) January 11, 2017
“We’re both left-handed, love contact and are extreme competitors,” Plum told Bleacher Report of the comparison.
“Crafty, left-handed, can shoot the three, make plays for her teammates… you don’t see that a lot, especially in women’s basketball,” Harden told WNBA.com. “I had to give her a shoutout and show her that I’m watching and I appreciate the left-hand craftiness.”
On Friday, Plum put the cherry on top by becoming the first player in PAC-12 history, male or female, to reach 3,000 career points, a feat that earned her Player of the Week honors for the second straight time:
FEAST YOUR EYES on the exact moment Kelsey Plum became the FIRST Pac-12 athlete to reach 3,000 career points!https://t.co/Ptx5F6qS0f
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 14, 2017
3,000-Point Club, NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball
| Player | Team | Points | Last Season |
| Jackie Stiles | SW Missouri St. | 3,393 | 2001 |
| Brittney Griner | Baylor | 3,283 | 2013 |
| Patricia Hoskins | Miss. Valley St. | 3,122 | 1989 |
| Lorri Bauman | Drake | 3,115 | 1984 |
| Jerica Coley | FIU | 3,107 | 2014 |
| Rachel Banham | Minnesota | 3,093 | 2016 |
| Elena Delle Donne | Delaware | 3,039 | 2013 |
| Maya Moore | UConn | 3,036 | 2011 |
| Chamique Holdsclaw | Tennessee | 3,025 | 1999 |
| Cheryl Miller | USC | 3,018 | 1986 |
| Kelsey Plum | Washington | 3,007* | 2017 |
| Cindy Blodgett | Maine | 3,005 | 1998 |
*Stats through Jan. 16, 2017.