Caitlin Clark is not here for any narrative about her friendship with Angel Reese.
Clark and Team USA won their fifth straight gold medal at the World Cupwith a 97-79 win over France on Sept. 13. The team overcame a 14-point deficit with a superb second quarter and second half that flipped the game. Team USA finished with five players in double figures. Breanna Stewart had 22 points, 10 assists and four rebounds to earn tournament MVP honors. Jackie Young added 18 points, Kahleah Copper 15 and Chelsea Gray and Clark 12 each.
After trailing 20-17 in the first quarter, the United States outscored France 80-59 for the remainder of the game. Clark and Reese made major contributions, including a momentum-shifting sequence with less than 10 seconds
remaining before the half. Reese forced a critical turnover, and Clark answered on the next possession with a 3-pointer that cut France's lead to 2.
Reese, who had a budding connection with Clarkduring the World Cup, could be seen cheering the star guard on from the sidelines. After Team USA's win, Clark was asked if she and Reese were friends now.
"We've always been friends. Don't try to do that. Don't try to do that," Clark said, shaking her finger at the reporter. Clark later returned after finishing her media session and appeared to tell the reporter again not to "do that" as she exited the area.
Clark and Reese are part of Team USA's "young and turnt" crew, and on Sept. 10, following a 108-56 win over Hungary, Reese was asked about playing with Clark.
"We've played against each other so many times. I'm sure we know each other's game like the back of each other's hand," Reese said. "So just easily dishing it off to her. She dishes off to me. She knows my spots. I kinda got one to her today, maybe two. So it's fun. We just continue to build chemistry because we know we're gonna be USA teammates for a while."
Caitlin Clark FIBA World Cup Stats
Here's how Clark did across six contests at the World Cup:
- Points: 7.8
- Assists: 5.3
- Rebounds: 2.2
- Steals: 0.7
- Field goal percentage: 35.9
Angel Reese FIBA World Cup Stats
Here's how Reese did across six contests at the World Cup:
- Points: 7.2
- Assists: 0.7
- Rebounds: 5
- Steals: 1.2
- Blocks: 0.8
- Field goal percentage: 59.1
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark swats away Angel Reese question after FIBA gold medal win
