Angel Reese appears to celebrate after Chennedy Carter’s hard foul on Caitlin Clark
In fact, she appeared to celebrate it.
After scoring a basket for the Chicago Sky late in the third quarter on Saturday, Carter came up from behind Clark and checked her to the floor with her shoulder while Clark was waiting for an inbound pass.
Caitlin Clark falls after being fouled by Chennedy Carter during Saturday’s game.Screengrab via X/@_MarcusD3_
Angel Reese appeared to celebrate after Caitlin Clark was knocked to the ground.Screengrab via X/@BarstoolNate“I wasn’t expecting it,” Clark said after the Fever’s thrilling 71-70 win over the Sky. “It is what it is. It’s a physical game. Go make the free throw and execute on offense, and I feel like that’s kind of what we did.”
But when Clark went down, Reese jumped up from the Sky’s bench and applauded her teammate, seemingly for the cheap foul.
“Yeah, that’s just not a basketball play,” Clark said. “But you know I’ve gotta play through it, that’s what basketball is about at this level. I thought we’ve been really physical, we’ve missed some bunnies around the rim, so hopefully those fall in the fourth.”
Later in the game, Reese took her own shot at Clark.
The former LSU star seemingly threw her elbow at Clark late in the fourth quarter, sending her to the floor yet again.
Clark seems to be a target for physical play this season.
“I feel like I’m getting hammered, I don’t know,” Clark said Thursday in a postgame press conference after receiving a technical during the 103-88 blowout loss to the Storm.
Saturday’s win for the Fever marked Clark and Reese’s first matchup in the WNBA, but their rivalry was established during their collegiate careers at Iowa and LSU, respectively.
Reese broke the internet when she gestured to her ring finger in Clark’s face during the 2023 NCAA Tournament final.
Angel Reese shows Iowa’s Caitlin Clark her ring finger during the final seconds of the women’s 2023 NCAA Tournament national championship game.Zach Boyden-Holmes / USA TODAY NETWORKThe two have maintained that the rivalry is nothing personal, but the more recent fouls against Clark could suggest otherwise.
Clark finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Indiana Fever.
Reese contributed eight points and 13 rebounds for the Sky.
Before Saturday’s matchup, the pair went head-to-head just 61 days ago in the Elite Eight, when Clark’s Hawkeyes overpowered Reese and the Tigers.
It was inevitable for the two to continue the rivalry on the WNBA stage.
Their next matchup will be June 16.
HOT NEWS:
VIDEO: CAITLIN CLARK CAUGHT SCREAMING AT KATE MARTIN IN FEVER-ACES
On Saturday night, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever went up against Kate Martin and the Las Vegas Aces.
This was the first time the two former Iowa Hawkeyes teammates went up against each other in the WNBA. Martin took the first head-to-head matchup with a 99-80 win.
Clark had a below-average game, recording just eight points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Martin, however, had her best game as a pro, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
During the final stretch of the game, when Martin was inbounding the ball for the Aces, Clark was seen screaming at Martin to distract her from making a pass. It was all in good fun though.
Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin, Iowa Hawkeyes. Jeffrey Becker / USA TODAY Sports
The moment was captured and posted online by a basketball fan.
“This is what I was talking about”.
Video Player00:0000:02
Clark and Martin will battle again on Tuesday, July 2, in Las Vegas.
HOT NEWS:
CHRISTIE SIDES BLAMES THE LEAGUE FOR THE FEVER’S LOW START, SIDES SENDS THREE-WORD REACTION TO THE WNBA
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA career is officially underway.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft made her regular-season debut for the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night, scoring a team-high 20 points in an eventual loss to the Connecticut Sun.
Clark, though, also committed 10 turnovers in the defeat, something head coach Christie Sides called ‘uncharacteristic’ of the former Iowa star after the game.
The Fever coach also reacted to the team’s brutal upcoming schedule in the postgame press conference by saying that the league is “not very kind” to them right now.
“There’s just so much we have to work on… this league is not very kind to us with our schedule,” Sides said after the game, via Fever beat reporter Matthew Byrne.
After taking on the Sun on the road Tuesday, the Fever will travel back home for a matchup against the 1-0 New York Liberty on Thursday night.
Indiana will then hit the road for a second consecutive game against the Liberty on Saturday before returning home to take on Connecticut again on May 20.
It’s going to be a busy week for Clark, Sides and the Fever.
May 14, 2024; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides watches from the sideline as they take on the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena. © David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
