Star PG Lucy Olsen Transferring from Villanova to Iowa
Iowa's depleted backcourt got a massive boost Wednesday with the commitment of former Villanova point guard Lucy Olsen, a rising senior who averaged 23.3 points per game for the Wildcats in 2022-23 and earned first-team All-Big East and honorable mention All-American nods for her efforts.
Olsen visited Iowa's campus Tuesday, and head coach Lisa Bluder and staff made their priorities clear during the guard's visit; it didn't take long for the star guard to seal the deal and make her commitment public.
Olsen's 23.3 points per game in 2023-24 were a substantial step up for the guard from her sophomore season, where she averaged just 12.4 ppg as the second option next to All-American forward Maddy Siegrist, who now plays for the Dallas Wings in the WNBA. Siegrist scored a nation-leading 29.2 ppg in 2023, besting even Caitlin Clark's 27.6 that year.
With Siegrist off to the professional ranks, Olsen's increased scoring load came at the expense of her long-distance shooting, which regressed from 35.6% to 29.4%, but she's much more productive and effective inside the arc; 74% of Olsen's field goal attempts in 2023 were two-pointers, compared to just 40% for Clark's senior season.
Olsen, who is (perhaps generously) listed at 5'9", may not look the part of an inside-out scorer who averaged more rebounds (4.8) than assists (3.8) last season. Some of that is again a function of her role evolving without Siegrist; like her three-point efficiency, Olsen's assists per game dipped year-over-year from the 4.4 in 2022-23.
Still, as evidenced by the clip below, Olsen is not shy about attacking the interior, and she plays with a level of swag that fans and teammates will have little trouble feeding off of at Carver-Hawkeye Arena next winter. There's a lot to be said about playing with confidence, and Olsen's looks unshakeable.
As Iowa's roster stands now, with Olsen in the fold the scholarship total is back to the NCAA limit of 15. Iowa's beloved senior class — Clark, Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall, Molly Davis and Sharon Goodman — will be replaced on next season's roster with Olsen and the incoming freshman class of guards Callie Levin, Teagan Mallegni, Taylor Stremlow, Aaliyah Guyton and center Ava Heiden.
Guyton, like freshman point guard Kennise Johnson, is recovering from a knee injury suffered this past season and may not be able to contribute at a Big Ten level right away next year. With Clark, Marshall and Davis all graduating, Iowa's healthy incumbents in the backcourt all look better suited to playing primarily off the ball.
Olsen's arrival makes that plan work.
Iowa still has some identity questions on the interior for next season, and Olsen won't fill the Caitlin Clark-sized hole in the backcourt all by herself. That's not a fair expectation.
What Olsen should provide, though, is what she gave Villanova: a fearless, productive presence in the backcourt who can continue her team's standards of success — and keep fans engaged and excited.