For the first time in school history, Louisiana State University (LSU) is the NCAA Women’s Basketball National Champion. The Tigers — led by junior guard Angel Reese and second-year head coach Kim Mulkey — defeated the Iowa University Hawkeyes by a score of 102-85 on Sunday.
The Hawkeyes’ run to the finals — fueled by superstar Caitlin Clark’s record-setting tournament — came to an end at the hands of LSU and their own dominant superstars. Beginning with Clark, some of the records she set include most points in a single tournament (161), most assists in a single tournament (60) and most points in a Final Four game (41). Her 161 points were not only the most ever for a women’s tournament, but for the men’s tournament as well.
As for LSU, their run was capped by dominating play off the bench from senior guard Jasmine Carson, who scored 22 points in 22 minutes, including hitting on five of six three-pointers. Senior guard Alexis Morris dished out nine assists in addition to her 21 points, but the story of the game revolves around Reese and the fallout of her celebration.
“All year I was critiqued by who I was… I don’t fit the narratives and the box y’all want me to be in. I’m ‘too hood’ and ‘too ghetto’… but when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing, so this is for the girls that look like me… it was bigger than me tonight.”
– Angel Reese
After it became clear LSU would be the champions — up 16 points with under a minute to play — Reese pointed to her ring finger, implying that she is getting a championship ring. She then turned to Clark and waved her hand in her own face, which is the infamous John Cena “You Can’t See Me” celebration.
Hitting these celebrations is nothing new in sports. It was just last year in Super Bowl LVI when Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald did the same ring finger celebration. As for the Cena celebration, it is something that Clark did as recently as earlier in the tournament against the University of Louisville. The reaction to Reese’s celebrations, however, were not as positive as the reactions to Donald’s and Clark’s.
An outrage of comments from analysts and sports fans poured in online after LSU’s win, with some calling Reese disrespectful, idiotic and more. Dave Portnoy, the CEO and President of Barstool Sports, called Reese a “classless piece of shit.” Keith Olbermann, formerly of ESPN and CNN, called Reese a “fucking idiot.” These were just some of the high-profile sports experts to weigh in on the celebrations.
During her postgame press conference, Reese addressed the celebration, saying “All year I was critiqued by who I was… I don’t fit the narratives and the box y’all want me to be in. I’m ‘too hood’ and ‘too ghetto’… but when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing, so this is for the girls that look like me… it was bigger than me tonight.”
Despite all the negative attention surrounding Reese, this was undoubtedly the most successful and most popular women’s tournament the NCAA has ever seen. The final between LSU and Iowa peaked at a record 12.3 million viewers and was the most-viewed college event ever on ESPN+. The hours and days following the final saw headlines being dominated by Clark and Reese, paving a new standard for women’s sports.
Reese’s celebrations were in the moment, and they captured everything that fans love about sports. In the face of the outside noise, Reese has silenced the haters and become a star in her own right, helping grow the game of women’s basketball one celebration at a time.
wjackso2@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @LSUwbkb, Twitter
