A highly anticipated game in women’s NCAA basketball is just around the corner and it’s not the championship.
Louisiana State University and the University of Iowa are set to compete at 7 p.m. ET on Monday in the Elite Eight, bringing together two of college basketball’s biggest stars: LSU’s Angel Reese and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark will face off for a final time at the collegiate level.
Many see the game as a rematch of last year’s national championship when LSU beat Iowa 102-85. While Monday’s game won’t end with a championship ring, the stakes are still high, as it will determine who will advance to the Final Four.
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In a press conference Saturday, Clark said she is looking forward to playing LSU.
“Any time you have a chance to go up against somebody you lost to, it brings a little more energy,” she said. “I think overall, it’s going to be a really great game for women’s basketball.”
Clark and Reese’s time on the court together last year also drew some controversy.
During the game, while celebrating her team’s fourth-quarter lead, Reese waved one hand in front of her face — a gesture widely known as wrestler John Cena’s “You Can’t See Me” move — and tapped her ring finger while staring at Clark.
Reese quickly received backlash, with commentators and observers calling it unsportsmanlike. At one point, the word “classless” in reference to Reese trended on Twitter.
Others chimed in to note that Clark too had used the same gestures during March Madness, but did not receive such criticisms. Many called that an example of a racist double standard.
But since the hand gesture drama, both players claim there’s no beef between them.
“Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other. I want everybody to understand that. It’s just a super-competitive game,” Reese told reporters Sunday.
“I’ve watched a lot of LSU games and what they’re doing for women’s basketball and the way their fans support, it’s tremendous,” Clark told ESPN’s Holly Rowe on Saturday. “They’ve had a great season so I know it’s gonna be a great game and both teams are gonna be ready to go.”
This season, Clark became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division 1 basketball, men’s or women’s. In late February, she announced that this season would be her last with the Hawkeyes and that she plans to enter the WNBA draft.
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