Caitlin Clark is set to make her United States women’s basketball senior national team debut on Wednesday against Senegal, and she spoke about how she’s feeling as the game approaches, saying she thinks she’ll experience a “pinch-me moment.”

“Oh, it’s going to be amazing,” Clark said. “Like, as a kid, this is what you grow up watching, so obviously I’ve watched a lot of really great players, and now I think it’s kind of like going to be a pinch-me moment. This is kind of what you dream of and obviously as being someone that’s played for three junior national teams, you know not many kids that had that opportunity get this opportunity, so just super grateful.

Six women are making their senior team debuts: Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, KiKi Iriafen, Monique Billings, and Rae Burrell. They all spoke about what this moment means as well.

Of note, Iriafen called it “surreal” and said she was “super excited to play with some amazing women.” Billings said she would feel “reel blessed” in those first moments. Reese said it was an “honor” to wear the jersey and that she was “so happy.” Bueckers referenced the “sense of gratitude and appreciation for everything it took to get here.” Burrell said it was “unreal” and “surreal” and that she was “so excited.”

The United States has already qualified for the tournament by virtue of winning last year’s Women’s AmeriCup, so these qualifying games will in essence let the team get some more experience on the international stage.

Officially, the U.S. is participating in the FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico from Wednesday through Tuesday, March 17.

The Americans will play five games against Senegal, Puerto Rico, Italy, New Zealand and Spain. The top four teams in that pool will all qualify, so in essence, five teams are battling for three spots with the United States already grabbing one berth.

All games will be available to stream on HBO Max, and the first four will air on truTV before the finale on March 17 against Spain gets televised on TNT.

The 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup will occur in Berlin, Germany, from Sept. 4-13.