“Eating applesauce” - $3.1M NIL-valued Caitlin Clark has hilarious reason for not being present in group picture after beating Holy Cross

Caitlin Clark was key for the No. 1 seeded Iowa Hawkeyes (30-4) when they beat No. 16 seed Holy Cross (21-13) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. However, the superstar guard was absent from the Hawkeyes' group picture after the game.

Clark, who has NIL deals worth $3.1 million as per On3, later confirmed that she was busy eating applesauce, which led her to miss the group snap with her teammates.

"Eating applesauce," Clark replied to a fan on Instagram who asked her whereabouts.

Image Credits - Iowa women's basketball Instagram

Clark struggled for a bit with her shooting against Holy Cross but eventually got into her rhythm. She finished with 27 points (game-high), 10 assists, eight rebounds, three steals and a block to help the Hawkeyes to a convincing 91-65 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

After the blowout win, Clark insisted Iowa still has room for improvement before heading into the deeper rounds of the NCAA Tournament:

"I thought [Holy Cross] made a lot of shots, I thought they competed really well. Gotta give credit to them. I don't know that we really played our best basketball. Obviously a little rust.

"I thought we could have just executed our offense a little better. They really compacted the paint, but I thought we responded really well. We always had an answer."

The Hawkeyes are on a good run this month. They clinched the Big Ten Tournament title and have got off to a strong start in the NCAA Tournament.

However, the competition is bound to get tougher with every win in the postseason. Since Clark is in her final year with Iowa, she will be more determined to lead the program to its first NCAA title.

When is Caitlin Clark's next game in the NCAA Tournament?

Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark's Iowa will square off against No. 8 seed West Virginia (25-7) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday, March 25. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. ET at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.