Caitlin Clark gets frustrated with reporter over Angel Reese question

A reporter seemingly attempted to bait Caitlin Clark with a question about Angel Reese after Team USA won the FIBA Women’s World Cup gold medal on Sunday and she was having none of it.

With Clark and Reese both on Team USA, the infamous foes were partners for a week plus and actually showed impressive chemistry in the process of helping their squad achieve the top prize in the tournament.

After Team USA defeated France in the final on Sunday, a reporter asked Clark if her and Reese are now friends after teaming up for the tournament.

MORE: Caitlin Clark’s first words after winning World Cup with Angel Reese

Clark was less than pleased with the question.

“Caitlin, you were next to Angel on the bench throughout the whole tournament… are you guys friends now?” the reporter asked.

“We’ve always been friends, don’t try to do that. Don’t try to do that,” Clark responded

“Don’t do that,” Clark said later after coming back around.

Outside of what happens on the basketball court, we rarely see Clark get frustrated, but we can’t say we blame her in this instance.

After all, it’s pretty clear the reporter was trying to bait her into a controversial answer that would make headlines.

But, being the savvy, experienced public figure she is, Clark didn’t take the bait and rightly put the reporter in his place.

The history of the Clark-Reese rivalry

Clark and Reese have seemingly had a heated rivalry ever since Reese and LSU defeated Clark and Iowa in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game

In that contest, Reese gloated by pointing to her finger to gesture that her and LSU were going to win a championship ring while also making the “you can’t see me gesture” at Clark.

Ever since then, the Reese-Clark rivalry has been considered one of the most heated in sports, and there has been no shortage of back-and-forth between their fan bases.

MORE: Angel Reese opens up on growing chemistry with Caitlin Clark on Team USA

But it isn’t totally clear how heated things are between the two behind the scenes, if at all.

But whatever was left of that rivalry was put aside for this tournament and Reese and Clark both played a huge role in helping Team USA capture gold while coming off the bench.

Clark’s scoring output and distributing skills were key for Team USA’s offense, while Reese did her usual thing as a top-notch defender and rebounder.

And, who knows, perhaps this experience has brought the two ladies closer than they have ever been.

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Mike Moraitis
Mike Moraitis is a freelance writer who covers the NFL for The Big Lead. Over his nearly two decades covering sports, Mike has also worked for The Sporting News Bleacher Report, USA TODAY and FanSided.