'A basketball play': Reese disagrees with her foul on Clark

INDIANAPOLIS — The second WNBA installment of Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese made as many headlines as the first.

Clark’s Indiana Fever defeated Reese’s Chicago Sky 88-83 on Sunday in a game that will be marked by the flagrant foul Reese committed against her college rival. Reese, the former LSU star who has been inextricably linked to former Iowa star Clark since their much-hyped matchup in the 2023 women’s Final Four, delivered a hard blow to Clark’s head as Clark drove to the basket in the third quarter. Officials upgraded the call to a flagrant foul 1 after a video review.

But Reese seemed to take exception to the ruling, describing it as merely “a basketball play” after the loss.

“I can’t control the refs,” she said. “They affected the game a lot tonight. … I’m always going for the ball. But y’all going to play that clip 20 times before Monday.”

Reese, who was called for five fouls, was visibly frustrated at times during the game. She was assessed a delay of game warning at one point in the fourth quarter after a prolonged argument with officials.

Asked about the physical play in the paint, where she was called for most of her fouls, Reese again turned her criticism toward the officiating.

“I think we went up really strong a lot of times and we didn’t get a lot of calls,” she said of herself and center Kamilla Cardoso. “And going back and looking at the film, I’ve seen a lot of calls that weren’t made. I guess some people got a special whistle.”

But just like the first contest two weeks ago, Clark took a hard shot that knocked her to the ground, this time when college rival Angel Reese’s right elbow hit Clark in the head.

The difference this time, unlike the Chennedy Carter play, was that the refs upgraded the foul to a flagrant 1 following a replay review, giving Clark two free throws and Indiana the next possession.

“The right call was made in that moment,” Fever coach Christie Sides said. “Just make the right call in those moments, and we can move forward. But when we don’t make the right call in those moments, that’s when there’s a problem, and they made the right call tonight.”

Marina Mabrey scored 22 points to lead the Sky (4-9), who have lost four straight.

Carter, who hit the unsuspecting Clark with a hard foul on an inbound pass two weeks ago, had 18 points and four assists. League officials later upgraded Carter’s foul to a flagrant 1.

Reese had 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while Kamilla Cardoso had 10 points and 10 rebounds Sunday.

Indiana built a 47-43 lead with a 12-6 run to close the first half. Marina Mabrey then scored eight points in a 12-4 spurt to open the second half to give the Sky a 55-51 lead.

The Fever charged back, taking a 58-57 lead on Clark’s 3-pointer midway through the third, and never trailed again. They opened up a 68-64 lead before Chicago scored the final basket of the quarter.

Indiana sealed it with a sequence that included Clark’s second 3 of the game, Boston’s short jumper, Smith’s layup and two free throws from Clark over the final 3:06.

“She took the shots that were hers and knocked them down. She distributed the basketball,” Sides said, referring to Clark. “She takes so much attention and she’s able to find those open looks for her teammates. I mean, all around she was just really good.”