“Not good juju. Good Lulu.” Lucy Olsen channeled Caitlin Clark in big Iowa win over USC

IOWA CITY -- As Caitlin Clark was leaving Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday afternoon with a protective police escort, she passed by a smiling Iowa women’s basketball player who was unassumingly chatting with her parents and some friends.

After scoring 28 points.

It was Clark’s day at Carver. Her Hawkeye No. 22 jersey number was retired. David Letterman was in the arena to witness the postgame ceremony, seated next to Clark’s college coach and his new pal, Lisa Bluder. Those who didn’t have a ticket hookup like Letterman’s had to come up with some serious coin to get inside the gym for this emotional, joyful celebration.

But it was also the current Hawkeyes’ day.

They beat No. 4 USC, 76-69, giving the Trojans their first Big Ten loss ever after nine wins.

It was Lucy Olsen’s day.

Last season, Olsen was third in the nation in scoring with 23.3 points per game. While the top two, Clark and USC’s JuJu Watkins, drew overwhelming attention, Olsen played at Villanova and showed her greatness in relative anonymity.

Sunday, playing as a senior, first-year Hawkeye in front of 15,000 people and a Fox national television audience, Olsen had one point more than sophomore sensation Watkins, the Big Ten’s top scorer. She tallied 23 of her 28 in the second half.

Olsen accomplished what Clark did so many memorable times as a Hawkeye, but in her own distinctive way. She slickly finished move after move in the paint with short jumpers and scoops, befuddling the Trojans’ typically terrific defense.

Iowa’s 19-point second-quarter lead completely disappeared, and USC went up 45-39 midway through the third period. The Hawkeyes regrouped. Olsen scored with two seconds left in that quarter for a 51-50 Iowa lead, and the Hawkeyes never trailed again as the noise level in Carver equaled those that Clark caused here.

“I noticed how loud it was,” Olsen said. “At first when I went out to shoot, there were already people in the stadium. I was like ‘What is this? People aren’t supposed to be here yet.’

“Then when we came out to warm up, it was so loud already. At tip-off, my ears, I was like ‘I hope it’s a little quieter because I can’t hear anything.’

“Every time I looked around, it’s like ‘Wow, this is crazy. I can’t believe I’m here right now.’”

USC’s players probably couldn’t, either. They draw well at home, but this was a different world.

Watkins got her points, but didn’t hide her disappointment in a postgame press conference. That said, she marveled at the atmosphere.

“I’m super-grateful to have a part in it,” she said.

Madi Skaff, 11, of Sioux City, (left) and Lola McKamy of Omaha, Neb., cheer on Caitlin Clark and Juju Watkins ahead of the Iowa-USC women's basketball game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

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Graciousness was as abundant here as talent and joy. The fans gave a warm ovation to Watkins when she was named in pregame player introductions. Clark lauded Watkins and her team during her postgame ceremony. The Trojans honored Clark by remaining on their sideline to observe the tribute to her.

The two hours-plus of noisy appreciation the fans showed, said Watkins, “was a testament to I think what Caitlin’s done and the direction that the sport is heading.”

Had Olsen played here for four years instead of one, her name and number would have one day joined Clark’s in the Carver rafters. She did get to experience what few players have, which is what it’s like to make fans feel the way Clark did on a giant stage.

Kelley Olsen, Lucy’s mother, was here from suburban Philadelphia with her husband. Instead of the 20-minute drive to Villanova they made for three years to see Lucy play. It’s now two plane rides each way. They’re loving it.

“It is beautiful to watch these fans,” Kelley Olsen said. “The noise, the excitement is crazy. It is so supportive and so much fun. Iowa Nice.”

Olsen never got to play with Clark. However, it sure looked like she was carrying some of Clark’s competitiveness and ability to rise to the moment.

“This weekend,” Kelley Olsen said, “we kept saying ‘Not good juju. Good Lulu.’ And it worked. I guess.”

Twenty-three points in the second half, leading the Hawkeyes past the No. 4 team in America before an ear-splitting Carver crowd ... it was just like not-so-old times.

There was a dance party of crowd-storming students hugging it out with the Hawkeyes immediately after the game. Coach Jan Jensen went right into the middle of it, embracing the kids and her finest moment as a head coach.

Watching the jubilation before the spotlight shifted to her, Time Magazine’s 2024 Athlete of the Year grinned. This was Caitlin Clark’s day, for sure. What made it way better for her and 15,000 admirers is it also was Iowa’s day.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com