“Caitlin deserves it more,” “YAY LUCY”: Iowa Hawkeyes fans rejoice as Lucy Olsen gets named to the USA Women’s Basketball 3x3 U23 team

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Lucy Olsen is set to be part of the USA Women’s Basketball 3x3 U23 National team that will play at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Nations League Americas Conference. The tournament is scheduled for July 22-28 in Mexico City.

The Hawkeyes account shared the news on Instagram and fans in the comments expressed their congratulations for Olsen. She had previously been selected for the FIBA U-21 squad and participated in the 2023 FIBA 3x3 U21 Nations League. The team won gold in the 2023 Nations League Final.

Most fans were happy for Olsen, including her former Villanova Wildcats teammate, Maddie Webber, who commented:

"YAY LUCY"

Other fans jumped in with similar comments:

"Let's go Lucy!!!", said logalbo11

"That's awesome! Way to go, Lucy!", tanman4480 said.

"Whoa, that's awesome. We love Lucy!", grenade_jumper said.

Fresh off the Fourth of July, one patriotic fan tried to start a 'USA' chant:

"USA USA HSA," obllvious said.

Another fan scored Clark's selection as another W for Iowa.

"hawks keep winning," said uiowamemepage

However, one fan felt that former Iowan Caitlin Clark deserved to be on the squad.

"no offense she os (sic) amazing but Caitlin deserves it more but i'm sure lucy will do great," graceweber884 said.

Fan reactions to Lucy Olsen's selection (Credit: Instagram/@iowawbb)

Fan reactions to Lucy Olsen's selection (Credit: Instagram/@iowawbb)

The other players selected in the squad are all NCAA Division I athletes. They include Cotie McMahon of Ohio State Buckeyes, Christina Dalce of Maryland Terrapins, Mikaylah Williams of LSU Tigers, Morgan Maly of Creighton Bluejays, and Serah Williams of Wisconsin Beavers. Christina Batastini will join as the head coach.

Before selection, Christina Dalce, Lucy Olsen and Mikaylah Williams were part of the 2024 USA Basketball 3x3 Women’s National Team training camp in Springfield, Massachusetts in April. FIBA also announced that this tournament will serve as the qualification round for the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup 2024 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from Sept 11 to 15.

Lucy Olsen to help replace Caitlin Clark's production in the Iowa Hawkeyes roster

In her junior year at Villanova, Olsen was third nationally in scoring as she averaged 23.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. She made 43.8% from the floor, including 29.4% from the deep. Although this may seem low, Olsen shot 35.6% from the three-point range in her sophomore year.

Olsen's skills and numbers point towards her as being the possible replacement for Caitlin Clark. The guard is aware of the expectation and said:

“Caitlin Clark is Caitlin Clark. I’m not going to try to be her. But they need a point guard, and it’s a perfect opportunity to try to make something happen.”

Clark also seemed excited at the prospect of Olsen joining the team as she reacted to the announcement on X in April. She wrote:

"‼️‼️‼️🔥🔥"