Here we go again, it's LSU and Iowa gearing up for massive, NCAA Tournament showdown, and the two biggest stars are doing their best to make it clear it's not all about them.
Both Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark dispelled any idea of bad blood between the pair stemming from last year's title game, which included plenty of trash talk, finger pointing and seemingly one-side criticism levied at the Tigers star.
"Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other," Reese said, "like, I want everyone to understand that it’s just a super competitive game, and like, I just wish people realized that."
It's a similar sentiment expressed by both players after LSU's title game victory a year ago, despite loud media discourse about sportsmanship and other virtue signaling that seems to follow the Tigers in a way it does not for other programs. That idea came to a head this week with a since-edited L.A. Times column that initially posted with derogatory language, including the term "dirty debutantes," which has since drawn strong rebukes around the sports landscape and from several members of the team.
But it won't change who Reese or the LSU team is, and the Tigers star made it clear her in-game persona won't change because of outside noise. The column also didn't slow down the Tigers, who dumped UCLA 78-69 in the Sweet 16.
"Once I get in between those lines, there’s no friends. I have plenty of friends on the court that I talk to outside of the game, but when I get between those lines, like, we’re not friends, we’re not buddies, I’m gonna talk trash to you, I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get in your head the whole entire game," she said. "But after the game we can kick it. I don’t think people really realize that, and that’s fine."
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Clark, who also downplayed any personal issues between the pair, echoed that sentiment.
“Me and Angel have always been great competitors ... and that’s what makes women’s basketball so fun, is you have great competition and that’s what we’ve had all year long," Clark said, "but I think Angel would say the same, it’s not just us in women’s basketball, that's not the only competitive thing about where our game is at, and that’s what makes it so good, you need multiple people to be really good, and yea, I think both of our careers — whether she decides to stay or to go — we’ll have great careers in the WNBA and that’s been both of our dreams all along, so I think we’re excited for that as well.”
The pair meets up again on Monday evening for a spot in this year's Final Four, and the microscope will certainly be hovering over both players. Reese knows where she stands, though, and she knows that the rivalry is good for the women's game. She'll continue to embrace that, and be who she is.
I’ll take the villain role," Reese said. "I’ll take the hit for it, but I know we’re growing women’s basketball, and if this is the way we’re gonna do it then this is the way we’re gonna do it, you like it or you don’t.”
The Tigers and Hawkeyes are scheduled to tip off at 6:15 p.m. (ESPN) in Albany, New York.