Reese made hard contact as Clark drove to the basket
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was on the wrong end of a flagrant foul for the second time in as many games against Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky.
Reese was assessed a flagrant with three minutes left in the third quarter of Sunday’s contest. Reese whacked Clark in the head as the rookie star drove into the lane and tried to attempt a lay-up.
Clark was asked for her thoughts on the play after Indiana claimed a 91-83 victory against Chicago at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“What’s going through my mind is, ‘I got to make these two free throws,'” Clark told reporters, per Indy Star’s Chloe Peterson. “That’s all I’m thinking about.
“It’s part of basketball. It is what it is. She (Reese) was trying to make a play on the ball and get the block. But, yeah, it happens. Those free throws when you have to shoot them with nobody on the line are kind of hard. It’s a little different than having people at the line, so I was trying to focus on making those.”
Reese explained her side of things, as well.
“It was a basketball play,” Reese told reporters, per The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach. “I can’t control the refs. They affected the game obviously a lot today. I’m always going for the ball. Y’all are going to play that clip 20 times before Monday.”
It was the first time the two teams met since Chicago guard Chennedy Carter hip-checked Clark on a controversial play last month. At the time, Reese was captured celebrating Carter’s play, which also was deemed a flagrant foul.
Clark and Reese continue to be two of the biggest rivals in women’s basketball dating back to their collegiate tenures at Iowa and LSU, respectively. As it stands now, though, Clark and the Fever are 2-0 against Reese and the Sky this season.