Before Iowa retired Caitlin Clark's jersey on Feb. 2, the WNBA Rookie of the Year was busy helping the Hawkeyes get ready to upset USC. The preparation worked, with Iowa handing the Trojans their first Big Ten loss of the season.
Clark practiced with Iowa before the game, which current Hawkeyes star Lucy Olsen said helped the team prepare for the firepower of USC's superstar JuJu Watkins. Clark's stardom brought the best scout team decoy to help mimic all that Watkins brings. An intense, competitive dress rehearsal. And Olsen said the former Hawkeye didn't let up.
"Oh, [Clark] was competitive," Olsen said to Rachel DeMita on an episode of Courtside Club. "It was helpful that she hits tough shots just like JuJu does, so it was like 'Okay, she's going to hit some,’ but we got to move onto the next play. It wasn't like we were surprised like 'Oh my god, how did JuJu just hit that,’ because we saw that yesterday. ... It was right on us, so we're used to that and onto the next one."
Rachel DeMita asked Lucy Olsen about Caitlin practicing with the team before the USC game.
— correlation (@nosyone4) February 24, 2025
“Ohhh she was competitive. Yeah it was helpful that she hits tough shots just like Juju does…alright we saw that yesterday.” pic.twitter.com/4NvJiN1OSk
Iowa held onto a 76-69 win despite Watkins's 27 points. She was held to just 1-for-7 shooting on three-pointers and went 8-for-22 from the field. Olsen had 28 points in the big win. She's averaging 17.2 points per game as she stars for Iowa this season. Watkins is averaging 24.2 points per game thus far during her sophomore year with No. 4-ranked USC, who is 25-2 and hasn't lost since they traveled to Iowa.
Clark watched her famous No. 22 go into the rafters following the game after she helped her alma mater secure their best win of the season. All in a day's work.
You can watch Olsen's full discussion on Courtside Club by Rachel DeMita here:
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Caitlin Clark Helped Iowa Prepare for Upset Win Over JuJu Watkins and USC.
