The women’s college basketball star waved goodbye to MTSU’s Anastasiia Boldyreva in the round of 32 clash in this year’s NCAA Tournament after Boldyreva fouled out of the game.
Boldyreva had been battling Reese all night long but found herself in foul trouble during the third quarter of LSU’s 83-56 victory. Reese eventually drew a fifth and final foul on Boldyreva, and as the fouled-out Tennessee center left the court, Reese could be seen waving goodbye towards her. Cameras then panned to Boldyreva, who appeared to be in tears as she stormed off down the side-lines.
Fans blasted Reese for her ‘poor sportsmanship’ and afterwards she took to X, formerly Twitter, to share her thoughts on the incident.
Reese posted: “clickbait everything i do keep going viral.”
Her response came after waves of criticism online. “Waving goodbye while you’re up 6 on an 11 seed isn’t the flex you think it is Angel. Not to mention the flop,” one fan wrote. Another said: “angel reese is more known for poor sportsmanship than actually playing ball.”
She waved goodbye to her opponent after they fouled out
Reese waved up arms up to hype up the LSU fans
Boldyreva was close to tears as she exited the game
“What a pitifully predictable way to conduct yourself. Zero respect for the diva who needed the refs in the 2nd half to win. Everyone watching saw the truth. I know a lot of basketball coaches that would’ve benched her for that display,” a third wrote. “It wasn’t a foul, and the wave is classless,” added a fourth.
However, countless other people leapt to the defence of the 21-year-old and told her to ignore the haters. “Just keep being you, Angel. We know who you are and what you represent,” one fan responded to her.
Angel Reese waved goodbye after fouling out MTSU player 👀
Tigers advance to Sweet 16 pic.twitter.com/s2gOwWMCo1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 24, 2024
“Just keep being you. Ignore the noise,” added another. It isn’t the first time Reese has faced scrutiny over her on-court behaviour. After capturing a national title in last year’s championship game, the LSU star pointed at her ring finger and celebrated in front of Iowa star Caitlin Clark.
The defending champions are a No.3 seed in this year’s ‘Big Dance’ and had to overcome a tough battle with Middle Tennessee to advance to the next round. LSU were down by four at halftime and managed to overturn a nine-point deficit in the second half to run out comfortable 83-56 winners.
They were only up by six points when Boldyreva fouled out and that incident really seemed to swing momentum in their favour. Reese finished the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds as LSU marches on to the Sweet 16. The Tigers will play the winner of Creighton and UCLA as they move one step closer to a potential rematch with Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Elite Eight.
