The Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky will always be must-see TV when they face off. That is because their two young stars, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, have a bitter rivalry that dates back to their college days at Iowa and LSU.
This season, the WNBA is leaning into that rivalry, as they scheduled five matchups between the two teams. The first of which took place on opening weekend, and the Fever dismantled the Sky, 93-58.
Clark put together one of the best performances in recent memory, scoring 20 points and contributing 10 rebounds and 10 assists. This triple-double was also accompanied by four blocks and two steals. Reese did what she does best, scoring 12 points and grabbing 17 rebounds for yet another double-double.
Caitlin Clark had classy message after flagrant foul on Angel Reese
Unfortunately, these two great performances have been overshadowed by a scuffle that occurred between Clark and Reese. Clark was given a flagrant foul for her role, and Reese was handed a technical for her response. Clark spoke on the incident and had an incredibly mature response.
"It's just a good take foul," Clark said. "Either Angel gets a wide open two points, or we send them to the free throw line. Nothing malicious about it. It's just a good take foul, every basketball player knows that."
In what is already a heated and volatile rivalry, there is no reason to stoke the flames. Clark recognizes this, and despite the weight of the world being on her shoulders, she took responsibility and was able to move on.
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Reese also had an incredible mature response to the issue despite being the victim of the flagrant foul. She spoke to the media after the loss and quickly brushed off any questions about the foul.
"Basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on," Reese said.
As long as these two great players are in the league, they will constantly be pitted against each other and compared. It is unfortuante that these two young stars cannot exist in a vacuum, because comparison is truly the thief of joy.