Angel Reese gives eight-word answer to question about Caitlin Clark flagrant foul

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INDIANAPOLIS – Angel Reese offered eight words, three sentences if using the metric system, in response to a sequence that had the second-year Chicago Sky forward trending on social media with nearly 26,000 posts on X as of 6 p.m.

“Basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on.”

Reese’s answer was quick. It was succinct. And when a reporter attempted a follow-up question, he was promptly shut down by Sky media relations.

The play that had social media abuzz transpired late in the third quarter of the Sky's 93-58 season-opening loss to the Indiana Fever.

As Reese drove toward the basket, Caitlin Clark rotated over and reached in with her right hand, swatting at the ball and knocking Reese to the ground in the process. The Sky forward got up and immediately began following Clark, yelling at her as Aliyah Boston moved to intercept. 

Reese continued yelling at Clark as the players returned to their respective benches, then began walking down the sideline, where she was met by a couple Sky staff members and a teammate. 

Officials reviewed the play and upgraded the call on Clark to a flagrant 1, the first of her WNBA career. Reese and Boston were assessed offsetting technical fouls.

Crew chief Roy Gulbeyan told the pool reporter Clark's foul met the criteria for a flagrant foul 1 for "windup, impact, and follow through for the extension of the left hand into Reese’s back, which is deemed not a legitimate basketball play."

The technical fouls on Boston and Reese were for a physical taunt and a verbal taunt, respectively.

Clark told Holly Rowe on the ABC broadcast it was “a good take foul,” adding there was nothing malicious about it.

Sky coach Tyler Marsh echoed Reese’s assessment that it was “a basketball play,” though he was allowed to field follow-up questions.

Within the context of the game, could you sense emotions simmering before that “basketball play” or was it a flashpoint?

“I thought at moments throughout the game it was physical,” the first-year coach said. “It was physical on both sides, then it was physical on one side, physical on the other, so it was up-and-down.” Marsh then took a beat, carefully choosing his words as he proceeded. “I think that — yeah, it was a physical game,” he concluded, looking up and flashing a grin.

With respect to the team's response, Marsh said it was "a little misrepresentative" to suggest Reese needed to be calmed down.

"Emotions were high on both sides," he continued. "Angel reacted in a way that any of us would have reacted in that moment. For her and for us, it's just understanding we're all in this together. We have her back in that locker room and on this coaching staff and it will be that way all season."

The Clark-Reese subplot has persisted from their time at Iowa and LSU, and has added significant juice to the Indiana-Chicago series since they entered the WNBA last season. 

Reese committed a hard foul on Clark during last year's meeting at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, hitting No. 22 on the head while trying to block her layup attempt. Clark took a similar path in addressing the play, which was also upgraded to a flagrant 1, saying it was "just a part of basketball."

"It is what it is," she said. "Trying to make a play on the ball, get the block. It happens.”

The incident Saturday didn't necessarily light a fire under the new-look Sky, who scored three quick points (a Reese free throw and Courtney Vandersloot layup) then surrendered a 9-0 run that stretched their deficit to 65-46 entering the fourth. But while Marsh thought his team was "out of sorts" at times from a consistency standpoint and in their shot selection, he pointed to the group's continued fight as a positive.

"The messaging was always continuing to stay together," he said. "It’s tough in a game like this when you’re down by so much to stay with it and stay focused, but I thought our team did a good job of that." 

"The vision is still there. The will is still there," he later added. "We have each other's backs. We have Angel's back. It's a team thing for us. We take this one on the chin. Indiana had a great day today. They made some shots we didn't. It's a team that's hard to come back against when you're committing turnovers and missing some shots early on. We'll be OK. This game will not define our season."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen. Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Fever newsletter.