NCAA Basketball
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The NCAA Women’s SEC Tournament ended in wild fashion as the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks and the No. 2 LSU Tigers took the court in a testy game packed with highlights. In the end, South Carolina, coached by basketball legend Dawn Staley, defeated LSU, although the contest took rough turns throughout.
The Gamecocks came into the contest with an undefeated record against the Tigers, led by head coach Kim Mulkey, with the players leaving it all on the floor in a classic test of will. Gamecocks got a big boost from their bench, with freshman guard Milaysia Fulwiley leading all scorers and dropping four out of five three-pointers. Aneesah Morrow led the Tigers in scoring with 19, and Angel Reese contributed 15. Hailey Van Lith and Flau’jae Johnson scored 14 and 13 respectively in a balanced game for the Tigers.
Tensions were high at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. as the nationally-televised game caught the attention of basketball fans who noticed Reese getting into it with Gamecocks center Kamilla Cardoso and was seen on screen pulling the player’s hair. Johnson and Cardoso also tussled with Cardoso shoving Johnson hard to the floor and Johnson’s brother attempting to protect his sister.
In the wake of the game, the South Carolina Gamecocks will take their SEC Championship win into the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament. At the same time, the LSU Tigers are prepared to regroup and make another run at the title.
While other division championships are going on, everyone on X is talking about SC vs LSU. We’ve got all the reactions below.
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Photo: Getty
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Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark lit the NCAA Women’s Basketball world on fire after their teams locked horns in the championship game this past April. Helping to elevate the women’s game to fans, the pair were named The Sporting News Athletes of the Year, which has sparked some interesting debates on social media.
Angel Reese, a forward for Lousiana State University, and Caitlin Clark, a guard for Iowa State University, were electrifying during their run through the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament. Some observers of the individual players have said Clark is the better overall player but the Reese won the Most Outstanding Player award of the Final Four. It isn’t exactly apples and oranges but a case could be made for how great both players were.
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Their impact on their sport in particular, on the world of sports in general, compelled The Sporting News to select Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese as our Athletes of the Year for 2023, making them the successors to soccer superstar Lionel Messi baseball’s Shohei Ohtani and placing them in the same category as icons LeBron James, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
“I was at the game. Caitlin and I are friends, and Angel is remarkable … It just made me smile, honestly made me smile, just to see the growth of the game, the incredible athletes on both sides,” Nancy Lieberman, the first woman to become a household name playing basketball, told The Sporting News. “It’s really wonderful to see where the game has gone and finally to be able to catch on with some mainstream appeal.”
The opinions on X have been divided with some saying Angel Reese should have the honor on her own with others saying Caitlin Clark deserved the honor. We’ve got reactions from all sides below.
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Photo: Ben Solomon / Getty
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Jill Biden recently caused a stir earlier this week after suggesting a White House invite to NCAA women’s basketball championship runner-up in Iowa alongside LSU, something that has never happened before. The First Lady of the United States has since apologized for the quip yet LSU star Angel Reese is still bothered by the retracted suggestion.
Dr. Jill Biden was speaking at an event this past Monday when she floated the idea of bringing both the winning Louisiana State University Tigers and the Iowa State University Hawkeyes to celebrate the effort of both teams.
As it stands, many in the sports world saw the invitation as an insult, including Reese, who became part of the national conversation after gesturing toward Iowa standout Caitlin Clark in the closing minutes of the championship game.
During an episode of Paper Route, by way of the I AM ATHLETE network, Reese explained that she’s received calls from Dr. Biden and the White House attempting to make it right, but the Baltimore native is having none of it.
That’s why she wants to come out and apologize,” Reese explained to Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss. “But at the same time, I don’t accept it, I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t accept the apology. You said what you said.”
Adding to that comment above, Reese said that instead of the White House, she and the team would rather “go to the Obamas.”
Heard that.
Check out some of the reactions to Angel Reese speaking about Dr. Jill Biden and much more below along with the Paper Route interview.
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Jill Biden, the First Lady of the United States, made waves this week after she made a most unusual request in the wake of LSU’s victory over Iowa in the NCCA women’s basketball championship game. Dr. Biden said that she would suggest to President Joe Biden that both teams appear at the White House for the customary visit presented to national sports champions, which caused a stir online.
Jill Biden was in attendance at the final game featuring the victorious Louisiana State University Tigers and the Iowa State University Hawkeyes this past Sunday. Without a doubt, both teams were electrifying to watch en route to the championship contest with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark putting on a scoring clinic any time she stepped on the floor.
However, Clark’s heroics weren’t enough to defeat the strong team effort from LSU and, of course, the moment people can’t stop talking about is LSU player Angel Reese giving Clark a bit of her own “Can’t See Me” medicine.
As ESPN reports, Dr. Biden spoke at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on Monday and extended the invite to both teams.
“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House; we always do. So, we hope LSU will come,” Biden said. “But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come too, because they played such a good game.”
Reese retweeted the news of the potential Iowa invite and captioned the tweet “A JOKE,” which echoed a sentiment shared by many online. Typically, the champions, including the players, coaches, and staff, are invited to the White House for a further celebration of their epic wins. As far as it’s been reported, a runner-up has never been extended an invite to the White House.
What we can say with confidence is that women’s basketball is just as vital as men’s basketball and March Madness didn’t disappoint on either side. Reese is also leaning into the discussion by not backing down from her gesture and saying she hopes to keep growing women’s basketball. Kudos to that.
Check out the reaction to First Lady Jill Biden extending invitations to LSU and Iowa to the White House below.
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Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty
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Darius Miles, a player for the University of Alabama’s men’s basketball team, has been charged with capital murder after investigators uncovered details of a fatal shooting that occurred over the weekend. According to police reports and reporting from news outlets, Miles provided the gun used in the shooting to another man.
Darius Miles, 21, was a junior for the Crimson Tide and hails from Washington, D.C. As reported by ESPN, Miles and Michael Lynn Davis, 20, were both charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Jamea Harris, who was 23. The crime took place at a popular area near Alabama’s Tuscaloosa campus grounds known as the Strip.
Both Miles and Davis are both currently in the Tuscaloosa County jail and may remind there up to two months before a hearing could take place according to Tuscaloosa police Capt. Jack Kennedy.
Officials from Alabama issued a statement to the public stating that Miles was removed from the team and they last played Tuesday (Jan. 17) against Vanderbilt, winning the contest 78-66. Vanderbilt coach and former NBA star Jerry Stackhouse spoke about the difficulty Alabama faces currently and tried to rally his players together to play the game ahead of the contest.
A statement from Miles’ legal team professed the former player’s innocence.
“While Darius has been accused of being involved with this tragedy, he maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court,” Miles legal team, William White, Clayton Tartt, and Suzanne Norman from the Birmingham-based Boles Holmes White law firm, shared in the statement. “Our firm’s own investigation is ongoing, and no further statement will be made at this time.”
There is another former NBA star named Darius Miles, now the co-host of The Knuckleheads podcast, but there doesn’t appear any relation between the 41-year-old to the former Alabama player.
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