LSU Tigers superstar Angel Reese has doubled down on her controversial taunting of NCAA Championship rival and Iowa Hawkeyes ace Caitlin Clark following Sunday’s national title-winning game.
Reese put up 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the 102-85 win, while rival Clark scored 30 points, two rebounds and eight assists. But it was 20-year-old Reese and LSU who won their first-ever NCAA Championship, despite Clark’s brilliance.
Clark has often taunted opponents in her record-breaking run to the final but Reese made sure to return the favour to the Hawkeyes star, albeit a controversial decision. Reese pulled out John Cena's famed "You can't see me" celebration — which Clark herself has used.
The meaning behind WWE legend Cena’s gesture is that he moves too fast for his opponents to keep up but in Reese’s case, she added an extra twist by pointing to the finger where she plans to wear her championship ring. Clark was keen not to react in the final stages of the game, or in the aftermath of the match.
Reese said after the game: “[Clark is a] hell of a player but I don’t take disrespect lightly. She disrespected [LSU’s] Alexis [Morris] and I wanted to pick her pocket. But I had a moment at the end of her game … I was in my moment.”
Reese’s decision to gloat in Clark’s face caused a divide on social media and among pundits following the game. But the reaction to her merely copying Clark has been the main talking point.
In a post-match press conference, Reese added: “All year I was critiqued about who I was. The narrative, I don’t fit the narrative, I don’t fit into the box y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood, I’m too ghetto, y’all told me that all year.
“But when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing. So this is for the girls that look like me, that’s gonna speak up on what they believe in. And, that’s what I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. Twitter is gonna go on a rage every time. And, I’m happy. I feel like I've helped grow women's basketball this year.”
“Honestly, I have no idea [what happened],” Clark said of Final Four MVP Reese’s gesture. “I was just trying to get to the handshake line and shake hands and be grateful that my team was in that position. That's all you can do is hold your head high, be proud of what you did.”
