LSU didn't merely beat Iowa in the national championship game on Sunday — it did so with style.
As the Tigers polished off their 102-85 victory, LSU forward Angel Reese went out of her way to poke fun at Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark. With Clark's back turned late in the game, Reese pointed to her ring finger and gave a "you can't see me gesture" to the camera in the style of WWE wrestler John Cena — mirroring a similar gesture made by Clark in Iowa's upset of South Carolina in the Final Four.
Reese's behavior in the aftermath of the Tigers' triumph ruffled a few feathers, but Clark downplayed the interaction speaking to reporters postgame.
"Caitlin Clark said she didn't see Angel Reese taunting her," Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen columnist Chad Leistikow tweeted postgame. "She was focused on going to the handshake line and being grateful for being in that moment."
Caitlin Clark said she didn't see Angel Reese taunting her, she was focused on going to the handshake line and being grateful for being in that moment.
— Chad Leistikow (@ChadLeistikow) April 2, 2023
Clark posted 30 points, two rebounds and eight assists in defeat, breaking Hall of Fame Texas Tech guard Sheryl Swoopes's record for points in a single tournament. As a junior, she has one more season left in a Hawkeyes uniform.