“Love you”: Lucy Olsen posts sweet message for Iowa HC Jan Jensen’s special day

Iowa Hawkeyes coach Jan Jensen celebrated her birthday on Friday and guard Lucy Olsen sent her greeting via Instagram. Sharing a picture of the two on her Instagram story, Olsen wrote:

"Happy Birthday Coach J. Love you."

Olsen's birthday wishes for coach Jensen (Credits: Instagram/@lucy3olsen)

After three seasons with the Villanova Wildcats, Lucy Olsen transferred to Iowa this April for her final season. The Hawkeyes lost a scoring powerhouse with Caitlin Clark's transition to the WNBA and it was expected that Olsen would fill in the void.

Coach Jensen praised Olsen after the practice sessions before the start of the season.

“She plays with the pull-up jumper,” Jensen said. “It has a little bit of a little bit of a little hitch to it. She can double-clutch you a little bit. She's crafty. She's fun to watch because she can kind of come out of a screening action where you think she's stopped.

"She kind of reminds you of a running back that's small and they're kind of hard to tackle. And you think, ‘How is that guy, getting through that backfield? And that's how Lucy Olsen is. That's what's going to be fun for the Iowa fan base, because this year is going to be so much different.”

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Lucy Olsen is expected to return to playing on Saturday

Before their two-game Cancun Challenge last week, Lucy Olsen sustained a knee injury during the practice sessions. She missed the games but is expected to return to play against Tennessee on Saturday as part of the Champions Classic.

Olsen is averaging 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game as a senior. With her at the lead, the Hawkeyes are now undefeated, on an eight-game streak. Although she was bought in as Clark's replacement and has already set the team on a victory path, the two guards could not be more different.

Iowa assistant coach Abby Stamp said in an interview with On3:

“Her game is very different than Caitlin. She has a different point guard mentality than Caitlin did. She’s going to be a little bit more of a floor general putting people in right spots…She certainly can score easily and efficiently off the dribble, creating her own shots. We’re hoping that we can get her some shots off to catch to really expand her game.”

With her predicted return, the Hawkeyes are hopeful of continuing their successful run.