DALLAS — It wasn’t the historic win by the Louisiana State University women’s basketball team that kept social media buzzing Sunday and into Monday, but LSU’s Angel Reese’s decision to give University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark a taste of her own medicine — taunting players on the court during the NCAA Women’s Championship game.  

“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” said Reese in a post-game interview following the Tigers’ win against the Hawkeyes. “I don’t fit the narrative. I don’t fit the box y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. Y’all told me that all year, but when other people do it y’all don’t say nothing.”

Throughout the tournament, fans and members of the press hailed and even celebrated Clark for the way she boasted in the face of her opponents. During the semifinals against South Carolina, instead of guarding Raven Johnson, she simply waved her off with the flick of her wrist.

The Hawkeyes would beat the Gamecocks 77 to 73, setting up the matchup with LSU. Still, it wasn’t just the wave-off that created a chain reaction. Clark also did WWE Wrestler John Cena’s popular “You Can’t See Me” gesture to Hailey Van Lith after scoring a three, drawing praise from the man himself.

Later, Reese pulled the “You Can’t See Me” hand motion on Clark with mere minutes left in the championship game.

“So, this is for the girls that look like me that’s going to speak up on what they believe in,” she said. “It’s unapologetically you, and that’s who I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. It was bigger than me.”

Despite the pushback for her actions and it being deemed “classless” and unsportsmanlike, Reese walked away from the national championship as the 2023 Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament with a double-double in every game. The Baltimore, Maryland sophomore recorded her 34th collegiate double-double — the most in NCAA history. When asked about Reese’s trash-talking on the court, Clark told reporters she didn’t see it.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” she said. “I was just trying to get to the handshake line and shake hands and, you know, be grateful that my team was in that position. That’s all you can do and just hold your head high and be proud of what you did. All the credit in the world to LSU. They were tremendous. They deserve it. They had a tremendous season. Coach [Kim] Mulkey coached them so, so well.”

On Monday, Stephen A. Smith dove into the incident on ESPN’s “First Take,” with his colleagues. In discussing his admiration for the junior, who he affectionately called the Steph Curry of women’s basketball, he didn’t hesitate to say that Clark instigated a lot. Smith also didn’t shy away from the intersection of sports and misogyny that this social media frenzy has brought to light.

“We all know that there’s a white, black issue here, because the fact of the matter is when Caitlin did it people were celebrating it and they were talking about nothing but her greatness,” Smith said. “But then the second a sister stepped up and threw it back in her face, now you have half the basketball world saying ‘well, you know what, that’s not the classiest thing to do’… it was the exact same thing.”  

And as far as basketball fans getting an apology from Reese after’s Sunday’s showdown between the two best teams in the country, it doesn’t seem likely.

“Caitlin Clark is a hell of a player for sure,” Reese said. “But, I don’t take disrespect lightly and she disrespected Alexis and my girls — South Carolina, they still my SEC girls, too. Y’all not going to disrespect them either.”

Both Reese and Clark will return next year, and with record-breaking numbers in attendance and views, much is to be expected for next season in women’s college basketball. As far as Clark, she hopes her contribution to the sport as the 2023 Naismith Player of the Year inspires all.

“I want my legacy to be the impact I can have on young kids and the people in the state of Iowa,” Clark said. “And I hope I brought them a lot of joy this season. I hope this team brought them a lot of joy. I understand we came up one win short, but I think we have a lot to be proud of and a lot to celebrate.”

“I was just that young girl, so all you have to do is dream and you can be in moments like this.”