Iowa Coach Conveys Courage of Lucy Olsen Thriving Amid 'Shadows of Caitlin Clark'

The Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team completed its 2024-25 NCAA regular season on Sunday with an 81-66 win over the Wisconsin Badgers.

This marks the end of Iowa's first regular season without superstar Caitlin Clark since she came to campus in 2020. Of course, the Hawkeyes have been adjusting to Clark's absence for this entire campaign — and standout guard Lucy Olsen has been a main component to that adjustment period.

Olsen transferred to Villanova after the end of last season and quickly became the Hawkeyes' top scorer, top assister, and a veteran leader on the court and seemingly in the locker room.

While they never got an opportunity to play together, Olsen has been outspoken about her admiration for Caitlin Clark. And when it was time for her head coach Jan Jensen to praise Olsen when speaking with Clark's Indiana Fever teammate Aliyah Boston after Sunday's win, Jensen phrased Olsen's success through the context of Clark's legacy.

"You know, Lucy, even before we had our changes with our coaching staff, Lucy was really courageous, right?" Jensen said, per an X post from @ericaf455. "She came in through the shadows of Caitlin Clark, and when she came here, she really liked what that culture felt like.

"And she leaned into those moments. And throughout the year when you're transferring in as a point guard, you're trying to learn a system, you're trying to run it, and then you're managing that orbit that still includes Caitlin Clark," Jensen continued. "And I thought she really started to get that confidence and lean in to what she can do."

She later added, "[Olsen is] just a beautiful woman, inside and out. She's a great player but an even better person."

Aliyah asking Jan about Lucy Olsen 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 pic.twitter.com/OxdFUD2YCF
— ericaf455 (@ericaf455) March 2, 2025

There's no question that Olsen has handled trying to fill impossibly large shoes with the utmost courage and grace.

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