Rebecca Lobo outlines expectations for Caitlin Clark following WNBA Olympic break 

Caitlin Clark was disappointed to be left off of the Olympics team. However, after not being named to Team USA, she had a nearly month-long break to regroup and prepare for the second half of the WNBA season.

It was a much-needed break for the former Iowa star, who went straight from playing for a national title to playing with the Indiana Fever.

Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo joined SportsCenter Friday afternoon and shared what she expects from Caitlin Clark on Friday as the Indiana Fever resume WNBA play against the Phoenix Mercury.

“Well, I think we’re going to finally have a chance to see what a rested Caitlin Clark looks like as a pro. You think about her schedule over the course of the past couple of months – plays for a national championship. A week later gets drafted. A week after that she’s playing in a training camp,” Lobo said. “This is for an Indiana team that had a historically tough travel schedule to start the season. So I’m really eager to see what a rested Caitlin Clark looks like.”

Clark spent some time away from basketball during the Olympics break but she also spent plenty of time working with her Fever teammates. With the schedule getting easier and Clark getting some rest, Lobo is expecting a big second half of the season for the rookie.

“On social media it showed that she was on vacation for part of that, and then the last couple of weeks she’s been training with that Indiana Fever team,” Lobo said. “So eager to see how rested she looks in that game tonight.”

The Indiana Fever got off to a slow start this season, before going 8-5 over their final 13 games ahead of the break.

Clark was excellent during that stretch, reaching double-digit assists in seven of the final nine games. For the year, she’s averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game.

Lobo hopes to see Caitlin Clark continue to settle in over the next few weeks, beginning Friday night.

“If we could get the version of Caitlin Clark that we saw in the last nine games of the first half of the season – seven of those nine games she had double digit assists. There was a real comfort level to her, a pace of the game that she just never looked like she was sped up. It looked like she finally had a really good chemistry with her team,” Lobo said. “They learned how to finish inside and as a result right now she’s leading the league at a little over 8 assists per game.”