By SCHUYLER DIXON (AP Sports Writer)
DALLAS (AP) — LSU’s Angel Reese waved her hand in entrance of her face whereas staring down Caitlin Clark, then pointed towards her finger as if to say a hoop was coming whereas strolling towards the Iowa star.
The gestures late within the Tigers’ 102-85 victory within the NCAA championship sport Sunday lit up social media, with feedback supporting the “Bayou Barbie” for trash speak that’s simply a part of the sport and condemning her for missing grace in victory.
The bubbly junior from Baltimore, who transferred from Maryland to hitch flamboyant LSU coach Kim Mulkey, was unapologetic within the postgame information convention.
“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” Reese stated. “I don’t fit in a box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. But when other people do it, y’all say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me, that’s going to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you.”
Clark, the scoring sensation who was the primary with consecutive 40-point video games in an NCAA Tournament, made the face-waving gesture to nobody particularly throughout an Elite Eight victory over Louisville.
The Associated Press Player of the Year wasn’t shy about displaying her feelings when the Hawkeyes knocked off undefeated defending nationwide champion South Carolina within the semifinals.
If she noticed Reese’s gestures, Clark didn’t appear involved about them.
“I was just trying to get to the handshake line and shake hands and be grateful that my team was in that position,” stated Clark, who scored 30 factors. “That’s all you can do is hold your head high, be proud of what you did. All the credit in the world to LSU. They were tremendous.”
In a 79-72 semifinal victory over Virginia Tech, Reese made what gave the impression to be a “you’re too small” gesture a number of instances after scoring across the basket.
The trendy 6-foot-3 put up with modeling aspirations is changing into a social media magnet. Reese wooed Lil Wayne after chastising the rapper from New Orleans for reaching out to Elite Eight opponent Miami earlier than doing the identical with the Tigers.
“I’m going to be me, but I can’t do it without the girls here, and I can’t do it without the rest of my teammates and coaches,” stated Reese, who had 15 factors and 10 rebounds whereas three teammates scored no less than 20 factors.
She was named the Most Outstanding Player on the Final Four after setting an NCAA single-season document along with her thirty fourth double-double in opposition to the Hawkeyes.
“Twitter can say what Twitter can say,” Reese stated. “I love reading those comments. I have all the screenshots of what everybody has said about me all season. What are you going to say now?”
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More AP protection of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Source: www.bostonherald.com