*LSU star Angel Reese revealed the ruckus during the handshake exchange following the Tigers’ 78-69 triumph over UCLA in the Sweet 16 game on Saturday sprouted from an assistant coach “getting a little too animated” and “talking a little crazy.”
The broadcast of the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament game seized the tense instance when Reese seemed to engage in dialogue with a member of the UCLA contingent.
Initial conjecture proposed Reese had a verbal altercation with Bruins’ head coach Cori Close, who seemed displeased with something Reese uttered toward the UCLA bench upon her exit from the game with only 30 seconds on the clock due to fouls. Nonetheless, Reese clarified that her remarks were aimed at an assistant coach.
“Oh no, she told me ‘good game,’” Reese elucidated when questioned about the incident during LSU’s postgame press conference. “It was another coach getting a little too animated.”
“It was another coach talking a little crazy.” When probed to expound further, Reese retorted with “Next question.”
The turmoil appeared to commence when Reese fouled out in the game’s waning moments. As she made her way to the bench, she glanced back and appeared to exchange words toward the UCLA bench.
An impassioned Close approached an official about the matter and reportedly expressed displeasure that a technical foul wasn’t called.
“That’s just not who we are,” Close remarked regarding Reese’s allegations after the game. “I don’t want to say anything about Angel. I will only speak to what the Bruins are, and the Bruins are classy, speaking life into each other. And we are not gonna give that any – we would never do that, and especially, it would never come from one of my coaches … absolutely not.”
In the game, Flau’jae Johnson tallied 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Reese notched her 26th double-double of the season, propelling LSU closer to a second consecutive title.
In the meantime, let’s delve into LSU coach Kim Mulkey’s response to the Los Angeles Times. After the defending national champions rallied to defeat UCLA and progress to the Elite Eight in the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament, Mulkey fired back at the Times for what she deemed a “sexist” commentary by writer Ben Bolch. The column depicted the Sweet 16 showdown as “good versus evil. Right versus wrong. Inclusive versus divisive.”
One paragraph that particularly irked Mulkey reads, “Do you prefer America’s sweethearts or its dirty debutantes? Milk and cookies or Louisiana hot sauce.”
“The one thing I’m not going to let you do, I’m not going to let you attack young people, and there were some things in this commentary, guys, that you should be offended by as women. It was so sexist, and they don’t even know it,” Mulkey voiced.
“It was good versus evil in that game today. Evil? Called us dirty debutants? Take your phone out right now and Google dirty debutants and tell me what it says. Dirty debutantes? Are you kidding me? I’m not going to let you talk about 18-to-21-year-old kids in that tone.”
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