Toe-curling moment Caitlin Clark snaps back at reporter over Angel Reese question after USA wins gold
Caitlin Clark had a brusque response when asked about her rival-turned-USA-teammate Angel Reese.
Clark, Reese and Team USA claimed their fifth-straight gold at the FIBA Women’s World Cup on Sunday.
The Americans pulled off an impressive 97-79 comeback win over Team France in Berlin, where the USA briefly faced a 14-point second-quarter deficit.
Despite ordinarily being fierce opponents on the court in the WNBA, Clark and Reese teamed up impressively throughout the tournament in Germany.
Given their success teaming up together, the Indiana Fever star was questioned about their relationship following the gold-medal showdown.
A reporter asked is she and the Atlanta Dream forward were ‘friends now’ after setting one another up with a handful of assists.
Caitlin Clark had a brusque response when asked about Angel Reese on Sunday
The Indiana Fever star has teamed up with WNBA rival Reese for the USA at the World Cup
Clark, however, was left unimpressed by the insinuation, quickly shutting down the question with a blunt response.
‘We’ve always been friends,’ Clark said.
‘Don’t try to do that,’ Clark said, wagging her finger at the reporter. ‘Don’t try to do that.’
After her interview ended, Clark actually walked back and chided the reporter while shaking her head.
Clark and Reese were fierce rivals when they played at Iowa and LSU respectively, with Reese beating her counterpart in the 2023 national championship game.
That feud carried over into the WNBA as two of the league’s most popular players battled throughout the season.
Reese had also been asked about her relationship with her Fever rival earlier in the week following the USA’s 108-56 win over Hungary.
When asked specifically about her productive partnership with Clark in these games, Reese said their familiarity has led to success.
Clark and the Americans clinched their fifth-straight gold medal at the FIBA World Cup
Clark dribbles as she’s defended by Migna Toure of France of during Sunday’s win
‘Yeah, I mean, we’ve played against each other so many times, so I’m sure we know each other’s game like the back of each other’s hand,’ she said.
‘So just easily dishing it off to her, she dishes it off to me. She knows my slides, so I kind of got one to her today, or maybe two. So it’s fun.
‘We just continue to build chemistry because we know we’re going to be USA teammates for a while.’
Breanna Stewart & Co. put together a dominant 30-12 third-quarter run to push the country’s FIBA World Cup winning streak to 36 while capturing a fifth straight championship.
What’s more, Team USA now has a six-game winning streak over rival France, including the thrilling 67-66 win in the Finals of the Paris Summer Olympics.
As has been the case throughout the tournament, Indiana Fever superstar Clark played a secondary role on coach Kara Lawson’s team, scoring a dozen points in 13 minutes off the bench, while committing four turnovers.
Team USA’s Reese leaps into teammate Paige Bueckers’ arms after the victory
Team USA has not lost a World Cup game since 2006, when they fell to Russia. The Americans are now 9-0 in gold-medal games since their second-place finish in 1983 to the Soviet Union.
And it was Clark’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer before halftime that helped the US to pull within two.
The US dominated in the second half, starting the third quarter with a 11-2 run to go up 54-47. Stewart, who has now four World Cup titles to her name, had four points during the game-changing burst.
France was able to get within 55-51, but the Americans used a 16-3 spurt that included France being called for two unsportsmanlike fouls on the same play. The Americans were up 73-57 heading into the fourth quarter, and France never was able to close the gap.