Angel Reese smacks Caitlin Clark’s head on layup attempt, assessed Flagrant-1 in Fever-Sky game
When Iowa women’s basketball defeated LSU in the 2024 NCAA Tournament to move on to the Final Four and gain some measure of revenge from a loss in the national title game the previous year, it marked the end of Angel Reese’s college career, but not the end of her rivalry with Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark.
In a nationally televised contest Sunday between Clark’s Indiana Fever and Reese’s Chicago Sky, Clark was smacked in the head by Reese as she drove to the hoop and went up for a layup, sending Clark sprawling to the floor.
Angel Reese smacks Caitlin Clark’s head on layup attempt, assessed Flagrant-1 in Fever-Sky game
When Iowa women’s basketball defeated LSU in the 2024 NCAA Tournament to move on to the Final Four and gain some measure of revenge from a loss in the national title game the previous year, it marked the end of Angel Reese’s college career, but not the end of her rivalry with Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark.
In a nationally televised contest Sunday between Clark’s Indiana Fever and Reese’s Chicago Sky, Clark was smacked in the head by Reese as she drove to the hoop and went up for a layup, sending Clark sprawling to the floor.
Reese was issued a Flagrant-1 foul, which was upheld following a video review of the play, giving Clark two free throws and the Fever the ball.
Though the play fit the definition of a Flagrant-1 foul, it didn’t appear to be deliberate, as Reese, who had been pulled near the top of the key as Indiana established a screen, rushed down Clark and made what looked to be a sincere attempt to stop the shot. Clark wasn’t wounded, either, as she promptly got up off the floor following the play.
“It’s just part of basketball,” Clark remarked after the game. “It is what it is. She was trying to make a play on the ball and get the block. It happens.”
Angel Reese smacks Caitlin Clark’s head on layup attempt, assessed Flagrant-1 in Fever-Sky game
When Iowa women’s basketball defeated LSU in the 2024 NCAA Tournament to move on to the Final Four and gain some measure of revenge from a loss in the national title game the previous year, it marked the end of Angel Reese’s college career, but not the end of her rivalry with Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark.
This weekend, the newest piece of evidence backing up that reality appeared.
In a nationally televised contest Sunday between Clark’s Indiana Fever and Reese’s Chicago Sky, Clark was smacked in the head by Reese as she drove to the hoop and went up for a layup, sending Clark sprawling to the floor.
Reese was issued a Flagrant-1 foul, which was upheld following a video review of the play, giving Clark two free throws and the Fever the ball.
Though the play fit the definition of a Flagrant-1 foul, it didn’t appear to be deliberate, as Reese, who had been pulled near the top of the key as Indiana established a screen, rushed down Clark and made what looked to be a sincere attempt to stop the shot. Clark wasn’t wounded, either, as she promptly got up off the floor following the play.“It’s just part of basketball,” Clark remarked after the game. “It is what it is. She was trying to make a play on the ball and get the block. It happens.”
Clark scored 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting along with nine assists and eight rebounds while Reese had 11 points and 13 rebounds in the Fever’s 91-83 triumph versus the Sky at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Clark’s 23 points were her third-most in a game in her young WNBA career while her field goal percentage was a career-best 63.6%. It was the Fever’s fourth win in its previous six games following a terrible 1-8 start to the season. Two of the triumphs throughout that time have come against the Sky.
Clark and Reese became irrevocably bonded during the 2023 national title game, when television cameras recorded Reese insulting Clark in the waning minutes of LSU’s 102-85 victory against Iowa. Reese went on to earn Final Four most outstanding player honors.
Though the two have publicly expressed admiration and respect for one another, they were at the center of another oft-discussed and hotly debated moment on June 1, when Reese was seen applauding on the Sky’s bench after teammate Chennedy Carter lowered her shoulder into Clark before an inbound pass, knocking the West Des Moines native to the floor in what was ultimately a 71-70 win for the Fever.
