That was the secret sauce

It has been over 10 months since Caitlin Clark was drafted to the WNBA, but the 23-year-old has maintained close ties with the University of Iowa. Clark spent four years in Iowa City, where she developed into a local legend.

Earlier this month, Clark was back at Iowa and spent the day practicing with the program. Lucy Olsen, who has replaced Clark at the point guard position, revealed that her presence had a lasting effect on the squad. Working alongside one of the game’s best players can be intimidating, but Clark seemed to provide the Iowa team with a newfound confidence.

During a recent chat with Rachel DeMita on “Courtside Club Interviews,” the 5-foot-9 Olsen discussed the impact of practicing with Clark, and how it helped the Hawkeyes overcome a JuJu Watkins-led USC. Coming into the game, the Trojans were one of the top-ranked teams in the nation.

“Yeah, it was helpful that she hits tough shots just like JuJu does,” Olsen said. “So it was ‘OK, she’s gonna hit some, but we’ve got to move on to the next play.’ It wasn’t like we were surprised, like ‘Oh my god, how did JuJu just hit that?’ It was like, ‘All right, we saw that yesterday.'”

Following Olsen’s admission that the WNBA star’s presence made a difference, fans took to social media to react to Caitlin Clark’s role.

“Ohhh… so that was the secret sauce,” said one fan.

“This makes me understand why Cait wasn’t surprised that day of the game,” wrote one fan.

“She gave em 35 in practice,” commented another.

“Yeah Lucy and the freshman hadn’t seen the CC experience up close til then,” said a fan.

“I hope, one day, we will see the video of that practice,” said another.

“Told y’all Caitlin lit they a**es up😂😭,” a fan posted.

JuJu Watkins has been one of the top players in women’s basketball at the collegiate level this season. Going into the game against Iowa, USC had lost just one game over the season.

Iowa put on a comprehensive display in front of its home fans, with Lucy Olsen recording 28 points to guide her team to a memorable 76-69 win.

Caitlin Clark has her No. 22 jersey retired by Iowa Hawkeyes

Caitlin Clark returned to her alma mater for her jersey retirement ceremony, which took place after the Iowa-USC game on Feb. 2 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Indiana Fever guard was with her parents, two brothers and boyfriend in the stands. She watched her former team defeat USC in an exciting clash before taking the court for the ceremony.

Clark was without a doubt the basketball program’s biggest name. She broke several records during her time with the Hawkeyes, most notably the NCAA’s all-time points record (previously held by Pete Maravich). She is also Iowa’s all-time leader in assists and holds the Big Ten record for 3-pointers.

Edited by R. Elahi