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Angel Reese speaks to the media following LSU’s loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes.
CNN
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LSU Tigers star Angel Reese said she was attacked “so many times” over the past year as her team. withdrew from the NCAA women’s basketball tournament Monday.
Reese and LSU lost 94-87 in the Elite Eight to a Caitlin Clark-Iowa inspired – a highly anticipated repeat of last season’s title game.
After what could have been the final game of her college career, a tearful Reese spoke about what she’s endured since winning the 2023 NCAA title, saying, “I’ve been through so much. I saw so much. I have been attacked so many times. Death threats. I was sexualized. I was threatened.
CNN has contacted LSU to offer the university an opportunity to comment.
Reese added that she hasn’t been happy since winning last year’s title — LSU’s first NCAA women’s basketball championship — but that she “still wouldn’t change anything.”
During last year’s title match, the 21-year-old walked up to Clark and gave him a “you can’t see me.” gesture – popularized by WWE star John Cena – before pointing his finger in an apparent reference to his soon-to-be-acquired championship ring.
It was one of the most talked about moments of what turned out to be the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history, and much was made of the rivalry between the two players heading into the rematch. from Monday.
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Reese draws against Iowa in the Elite Eight.
Reese had said that she had been chosen to play the “villain role” against Clark, while adding that the two “don’t hate each other” and are just “super competitive” on the basketball court.
They were respectful after the match, each telling each other to continue being a great player.
Clark, the leading scorer in Division I women’s and men’s history, had 41 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists against LSU and made 9 of 20 from three-point range, while Reese had 17 points and 20 rebounds, his 10th in a row. double-double in the NCAA tournament.
It’s unclear whether Reese will return to LSU or enter this month’s WNBA draft, for which she is a projected first-round pick.
In his postgame press conference, Reese reflected on his turbulent senior year, saying, “I don’t really get a chance to defend myself. I have great teammates. I have a great support system. I have my hometown. I have my family defending me.
“I don’t really get a chance to speak out on things just because I try to ignore and I just try to stay strong…I would sit here and say, ‘I’m just being myself without any excuse.’ I will always leave this mark, be who I am and stick to that.
“The little girls that look up to me, I hope, I give them some kind of inspiration… Keep being who you are.” »
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Clark scored 41 points against LSU as Iowa reached the Final Four of the women’s NCAA tournament.
Reese’s teammates at LSU also paid tribute to her influence on the team.
“Everyone can have their opinion on Angel Reese, but you don’t know her,” Flau’jae Johnson said. “You don’t know Angel Reese. I know Angel Reese.
“I know the real Angel Reese, and the person I see every day is a strong person, a caring, loving person… Just to see how much the media ridicules her – we’ve been through our problems, but here’s my sister here. »
