Monday evening will see a rematch of last year’s women’s college basketball championship when the Iowa Hawkeyes take on the Louisiana State University Tigers in the “Elite Eight” round of the tournament.
The Tigers won the championship last year, while the team’s star player, Angel Reese, sparked controversy over a hand gesture.
Reese and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark began trending on social media in the last moments of the game after Reese made a gesture during the game widely known as wrestler John Cena’s “You Can’t See Me” taunt, then pointed to her finger to indicate she would be getting a championship ring because the Tigers were winning the game.
The LSU coach also reacts to social media attacks on Angel Reese after viral hand gesture. https://t.co/4cs1lOMXqb
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 3, 2023
The gesture upset some and fired others up, but Reese wasn’t the first to use the gesture in the tournament, Clark had made that same hand wave gesture at a game earlier in last year’s tournament.
Hailey Van Lith: Media reaction to Caitlin Clark hand gesture ‘dumb’ https://t.co/L0DfD233q9 pic.twitter.com/MOaJXALHo1
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 13, 2023
The “trash talking,” or in this case, “trash gesturing” gave fans on both sides plenty of ammo to take shots on social media, but both players said then, and say now, that it’s part of the game – nothing personal.
“Between those lines, we’re not friends, we’re not buddies,” Reese said, but added, “I don’t think people realize it’s not personal. Once we get out (from) between those lines, if I see you walking down the street, it’s like, hey, girl, what’s up? Let’s hang out.
“I think people just take it like we hate each other. Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other. I want everybody to understand that.”
Clark echoed Reese’s comments.
“Both of us want to win more than anything, and that’s how it should be when you’re a competitor and you get into a situation like this,” Clark said about the similarities between herself and Reese. “That goes for LSU’s entire roster. That goes for Iowa’s entire roster. Every single one of us wants this so bad. We want to advance to the Final Four so bad. … We both grew up loving this game, and we’re going to do anything we can to help our teams win.”
“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.”
When the two met last year, it was the most-watched women’s basketball game ever with some 10 million viewers tuned-in. Tonight’s contest may break that record.
The meeting tonight will be the last college matchup for the two as Clark declared in February that she would be entering the 2024 WNBA Draft -- likely as the No.1 seed.
This season, Clark became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division 1 basketball, men’s or women’s.
Reese, who has averaged more than 13 rebounds per game this season, has not yet said what she intends to do as far as the draft is concerned.
The game tips off at 7:19 p.m. EDT and is being played in the MVP Arena in Albany, New York. It will be broadcast on ESPN.
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