LSU head coach Kim Mulkey didn’t want to be at a post-game press conference talking about an Elite Eight loss to Iowa, but that’s the way the game ended in Albany as Caitlin Clark dropped 41 against her Tigers to end their NCAA Tournament run.
Mulkey was seen in the post-game handshake line having a brief moment with Clark, who was smiling as the veteran head coach said something in her ear. Of course, reporters were curious to know what she said.
Mulkey’s response was funny, but also very real.
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"What did I say to her? I said, ‘I sure am glad you’re leaving,’" Mulkey said. "’Girl, you’re something else. Never seen anything like it.’"
LSU star Angel Reese and Clark also shared pleasantries after the game.
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"She just told me, ‘Continue to be a great player,’" Reese said of her interaction with Clark. "And I told her, ‘Continue to be a great player as well, and keep elevating the game and go win it.’"
Of course, last season’s bout in the national championship game got all the attention, especially with Reese’s now-iconic pointing to her ring finger at the end of the game in a gesture toward Clark.
But both stars said there is no animosity from that game leading up to Monday night’s Hawkeyes win, 94-87, where Clark rewrote the NCAA record books again. She broke Diana Taurasi’s NCAA Tournament record for most three-pointers made after draining 9-of-20 from beyond the arc, as well as the most tournament assists where she has 140 and counting.
Reese had shown praise of Clark prior to this highly-anticipated Elite Eight game.
"I don’t think people realize it’s not personal," Reese noted Saturday while speaking about the "super competitive" Clark. "Once we get out between those lines, if I see you walking down the street, it’s like, ‘Hey, girl, what’s up? Let’s hang out.’ I think people just take it like we hate each other. Me and Caitlin Clark don’t hate each other. I want everybody to understand that."
While Reese started off hot, but went cold after appearing to suffer an ankle ailment in the second quarter, Clark caught fire in the third when she drained four of her nine three-pointers.
Mulkey noted there wasn’t "a whole lot of strategy" trying to guard Clark, as LSU’s Hailey Van Lith shrugged multiple times after good contests still resulting in a make for Clark.
"You got to guard her, nobody else seems able to guard her. We didn’t even guard her last year when we beat them. She’s just a generational player and she just makes everybody around her better. That’s what the great ones do."
Clark and Iowa move on to the Final Four, where they will see Paige Bueckers and No. 3 UConn in Cleveland.
While Clark has made her intentions known that she will enter the 2024 WNBA Draft, Reese has yet to declare.
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