Angel Reese couldn’t be more excited for one of her college basketball rivals.
Caitlin Clark thrilled Carver-Hawkeye Arena when she set the new NCAA Division I women’s college basketball scoring record on Thursday night, and even though she was not in the building, Reese, the LSU phenom, gave a big shoutout to the Iowa superstar.
“Congratulations @CaitlinClark22 KEEP BREAKING RECORDS & MAKING HER-STORY!” Reese wrote on X with two heart emojis in Iowa’s black and yellow colors before Iowa won 106-89 over Michigan.
It was a much different response to Clark than the one Reese handed out during last season’s national championship game.
As LSU pulled an upset over Iowa, Reese was seen toward the end of the game taunting Clark with John Cena’s “you can’t see me” celebration along with pointing to her ring finger.
Clark had previously used the Cena gesture earlier in the NCAA Tournament.
Reese said after the game that “disrespect” led her to such actions on the court.
“I was waiting,” Reese said on ESPN’s postgame show last April. “Caitlin Clark is a hell of a player for sure, but I don’t take disrespect lightly.
“She disrespected Alexis [Morris] and my girls, South Carolina, they’re my SEC girls too. Y’all not going to disrespect them either. I wanted to pick her pocket, but I had a moment at the end of the game, and I was in my bag. I was in my moment.”
Clark was asked about the incident on “SportsCenter” in the days after the game and said she was not bothered by Reese’s actions and didn’t think there should be “criticism” for the gestures.
Reese opened up to Women’s Health on Thursday about the incident and said the two women’s basketball megastars were “cool” with each other.
“I love that we’re able to compete and still be cool after, regardless of the outside noise,” Reese said. “People even say Magic [Johnson] and Larry Bird, that era [of basketball] and how it was. If that’s who we are, then OK, cool.…I think we’re both happy about what’s going on.”
Elsewhere in the sports universe, Clark, who also set a single-game Iowa record with 49 points, was lauded by plenty, including tennis icon Billie Jean King.
“She’s made history! Cheers to @CaitlinClark22, the new NCAA Women’s Basketball All-Time Leading Scorer,” King wrote on X.
U.S. Women’s National Team legend Alex Morgan also praised Clark for her record.
“Incredible @CaitlinClark22 take it all in!” Morgan wrote on X.
Even Michigan alum Tom Brady paid tribute to the new GOAT in a video posted by the Big Ten.
“I just wanted to say congratulations on the record,” he said. “Like the rest of the country, I’ve been following along while you chase down my girl Kelsey. I know she’s proud of you too. .. I’ll be watching.”
