Even though the closing drama of the women’s basketball national championship game — where LSU secured their first NCAA title and star Angel Reese notably taunted back to the Hawkeyes’ Catilin Clark — has passed, Reese still believes she will carry a label with her into the next season.
“I love Caitlin; we’ve been competing since we were in AAU,” Reese said on Thursday at LSU’s media day. “It was always fun, always competitive. One day, hopefully, we could even be teammates. She is a great player, shooter, person and teammate.
“The world is always going to have a good girl and a bad girl. I’ll take that I’m going to be the bad guy because I know I’ve grown women’s basketball and inspired people.”
The Lady Tigers’ championship was somewhat overlooked because of the taunting from Reese, who faced backlash for giving the “you can’t see me” celebration — originally made famous by rapper Tony Yayo and later WWE legend John Cena — along with pointing to her ring finger during the final moments of the 102-85 victory.
Clark admitted she didn’t notice Reese’s gestures, but she defended her opponent, saying she didn’t think that there was anything wrong.
Clark is also notably a taunter, which was on full display in Iowa’s game against Louisville towards now-turned-LSU player Hailey Van Lith.
“It was frustrating,” said Reese. “I mean, to see how we’ve grown women’s basketball… 9.9 million people watched the game. That’s more than the men.
“I know one day we’re going down in the history books, so it’s bigger than me. I’m so happy that we won the championship. I wish it was more talked about.
“As much as they talked about the Caitlin situation… because we worked just as hard. We put a lot of sweat and tears into that championship and people don’t realize that. … It’s the best of both worlds. I’m happy the situation happened, but at the same time, I’m a national champion — and I’m getting a ring.”
The LSU junior eventually revealed that she taunted Clark because the Iowa star “disrespected” the South Carolina Gamecocks in a viral moment that was likely when Clark waved off Gamecocks guard Raven Johnson, who had the ball at the top of the perimeter, and didn’t bother to defender her.
At media day, it was also pointed out to Reese that the “good vs. bad” labels are likely just given by fans depending on who they’re cheering for.
“Yeah, LSU loves me, but they might not like her. People can think what they think,” Reese said. “Me and Caitlin are cool; we’ve never had any issues. Just knowing I’ve helped grow women’s basketball, and she has, too, that’s all that matters.”
The women’s tournament in April was a spectacle and the viewership numbers easily swept the previous ESPN high.
Reese and Clark and their respective teams were a major component of that, and the attention will continue this upcoming season.
LSU has had a productive offseason, building a budding superteam after adding top transfers Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow, and the team is likely to be a top favorite for a two-peat season.
