The Elite Eight matchup between Iowa and LSU, expected to take place on Monday night, will be heated and entertaining, but there’s also a “hate” between the team’s two main stars, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. There is no “rivalry” either.
After a game in which Reese teased with her ring finger and John Cena waved “I can’t see you” at Clark during last year’s NCAA women’s finals, when LSU won its first national championship, many Expect showmanship and trash talk.
But Reese said Sunday there was no need to read too much into the trash talk or what happened in last year’s finals.
“I don’t think people understand that it’s not personal,” said Reese, who ranks second nationally in rebounds per game (13.2 rebounds). “Once you step between the lines and see you walking down the street, you’re like, ‘Hey, girl, what’s up? Let’s play.’ People take it like we hate each other. Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other, and I want everyone to understand that. It’s just a super competitive game. When you get between that line, your friends… No. I’m going to talk trash to you. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get in your head the whole game, but when the game’s over, let’s kick it. People are going to get into that. I don’t think you really realize it.
“That’s fine. I’ll play the villain. I’ll take it with a grain of salt, but I know we’re growing women’s basketball. If this is how we’re going to do it, this is how we’re going to do it.” It’s the way it’s going to be done. You either like it or you don’t.”
Both Mr. Rees and Mr. Clark confirmed to the Post’s Steve Serby that there is no “rivalry” between them.
Rather, Reese describes their relationship as “hyper-competitive.” The two have won and lost against each other many times since high school and later, when Reese began his college career at the University of Maryland.
The two have often been compared to the championship rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who developed a rivalry after meeting in the 1979 NCAA men’s finals, when Johnson’s Michigan State defeated the Birds’ Indiana State. Ru.
Since then, the two have met three times in the NBA Finals in 1984, 1985, and 1987. Johnson and the Lakers defeated Bird and Boston 2-1.
Clark, who leads the NCAA women’s team in points per game with 31.7 points per game, agreed with Reese’s take on their relationship.
“There’s definitely a competitive fire,” Clark said. “We both want to win more than anything, and that’s the way you should be when you’re in a situation like this as a competitor, whether it’s a national championship or the Elite Eight.
“I think the main similarity is how competitive we are. We both grew up loving this game, so we’re willing to do whatever we can to help our team win.” is.”
Clark and Reese are scheduled to tip-off Monday night at 7:15 p.m. in what is expected to be one of the best matchups of the tournament.
