Angel Reese Bluntly Addresses Flagrant Foul on Caitlin Clark in Sky’s Loss to Fever

Kristen Wong | Jun 16, 2024

Jacob Musselman/ For IndyStar / USA

It didn’t take long for Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese to field her first question about her foul on Caitlin Clark in Sunday’s postgame presser.

Following the Sky’s 91-83 loss to the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Reese was asked about her foul on Clark, which was upgraded to a Flagrant 1 after official review. 

“It was a basketball play,” Reese said, via The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach. “I can’t control the refs. They affected the game obviously a lot today. I’m always going for the ball. Y’all are going to play that clip 20 times before Monday.”

Reese committed the flagrant foul while Clark was driving to the rim in the third quarter. The Sky rookie swung her arm and hit the back of Clark’s head, sending Clark sprawling to the floor. Reese was assessed a Flagrant 1 for “unnecessary” contact, per the WNBA’s rule book. A Flagrant 2 foul would be considered unnecessary as well as excessive. 

Reese finished with a sixth-straight double-double (11.0 points and 13.0 rebounds) while shooting 30.8% from the field. Clark finished with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting, adding eight rebounds and nine assists to set yet another historical record. 

The last time the Sky and Fever met was June 1, when Sky’s Chennedy Carter stirred up controversy for her hard foul on Clark in the Fever’s 71-70 win.

The two teams will meet again next Sunday, June 23 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.