Caitlin Clark’s Presence Wows Players at Illinois-Penn Game

Caitlin Clark may not be on the court now that the WNBA season has concluded, but her impact remains strong. At a recent Illinois game where they crushed Penn 112-70 at the State Farm Center, players were astonished to find out she had been in attendance. During the postgame press conference, guard Quentin Coleman and forward Zavier Zens expressed their surprise upon learning Clark was watching them.

When asked by a reporter if they knew Clark was in the building before the game and if that influenced their play, Coleman was visibly shocked. ‘Wait, wait, wait, Caitlin Clark was in the building?’ he asked, covering his mouth, clearly surprised.

Coleman couldn’t hide his excitement, smiling and saying, ‘Yo!’ while acknowledging Clark’s influence. He was eager to share the news with his sister, drawing a parallel between Clark’s skill and their own performance. ‘She shoots lights out, so I guess he felt that,’ he said about Zens, who scored 18 points with impressive 3-point shooting.

Zens, despite not knowing Clark was there, delivered a strong performance. Coleman credited Clark’s presence with elevating the atmosphere. ‘Dang, she just brought the aura,’ he remarked.

Sitting beside Clark was Connor McCaffery, her boyfriend, and son of Penn’s head coach Fran McCaffery. Connor also serves as a player development assistant for the Noblesville Boom in the NBA G League. The couple has been together since April 2023.