Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese agreed on one thing Saturday: Their minor court incident during the season opener was just a basketball play. Aside from that, Clark did most of the talking about the moment that gave the Indiana Fever what it needed to have a 93-58 victory over the Chicago Sky.
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Here’s What Happened On The Court With Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark & Aliyah Boston
There was only 4:38 left in the third quarter when the WNBA players hit a bump in the season opener game, per the Associated Press. After Reese grabbed an offensive rebound, Clark slapped Reese’s arm hard enough to shake the ball loose and knock Reese to the floor.
When Reese got up, she tried to confront Clark before Indiana center Aliyah Boston stepped in between the two players. Clark’s third personal foul was upgraded to a flagrant one while Boston and Reese each got a technical foul after a replay review by the referees.
Caitlin Clark & Angel Reese Clear The Air
Despite what it looked like to the audience, Caitlin Clark downplayed the on-court spat in press interviews after the game. She denied having any “malicious” energy toward Angel.
“Let’s not make it something that it’s not,” Clark said after posting the third triple-double of her career. “It was just a good play on the basketball. I’m not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that’s up to their discretion. It’s a take foul to put them at the free-throw line. I’ve watched a lot of basketball in my life, that’s exactly what it was. I wasn’t trying to do anything malicious. That’s not the type of player I am.”
She added, “I went for the ball, clear as day in the replay,” Clark said. “You watch it, you know it shouldn’t have been upgraded. Again, that’s up to the refs’ discretion, but I appreciate A.B. having my back.”
Aliyah Boston may have been the most surprised of the players! She seemingly didn’t realize she had been called for the technical until after the game. She reacted by putting her hands on her face, looking surprised, and asking if she really had drawn the technical. Clark also said she would pay the fine for Boston, saying, “I got it.”
Angel Reese’s take on what happened? “A basketball play,” she said without elaborating after scoring 12 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. A team spokesman cut her off when a follow-up question was asked later in the interview, saying Reese had already answered the question.
What Did Game Officials Say About The Moment?
And when new coach Tyler Marsh was asked about his thoughts, he paused before repeating Angel Reese’s answer. Indiana had a little more to say after Clark finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and a career-high four blocks.
“Nobody’s going to get anything easy against us,” new Fever coach Stephanie White said. “We’re going to be a tough defensive team. I thought it was a clear play on the ball as well. One of the points of emphasis is we can’t give up. But I thought it was a clear play on the ball.”
Meanwhile, crew chief (referee) Roy Gulbeyan disagreed. “The foul on Clark met the criteria for flagrant foul 1, for wind up, impact, and follow through for the extension of the left hand to Reese’s back, which is deemed not a legitimate basketball play, and therefore deemed unnecessary contact,” he said. “After the foul, there is a physical taunt technical on Boston and a verbal technical on Reese, which offset.”
Social Media Is Obsessed With A Rivalry!
Still, social media isn’t ignoring the obvious — that moment just added another chapter to the rivalry that has women’s basketball in a chokehold. It started in Angel and Caitlin’s college days, when Reese helped lead LSU to a 102-85 victory over Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes for the 2022-23 national championship. Clark won the rematch in the spring of 2024, a game that drew 12.3 million television viewers.
Less than eight weeks later, they were squaring off in the WNBA in the first of four matchups. The Fever took three of those contests, many featuring hard fouls. In the end, Clark helped Indiana make the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Sky came up short, and Reese missed the final two weeks of games with a season-ending wrist injury. Now THIS happens. Thoughts, roomies?
Associated Press Sports Writer Michael Marot contributed to this report.
