Reese and LSU eliminated Middle Tennessee State
LSU Tigers women’s basketball star Angel Reese waved goodbye to one of the Middle Tennessee State players during the round of 32 in the tournament as she fouled out in the third quarter.
Reese battled with Middle Tennessee State’s bigs all game long. And with 59 seconds left in the frame, Anastasiia Boldyreva fouled out of the game.
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Angel Reese, #10 of the LSU Tigers, claps during the first quarter during the second round of the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 24, 2024, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Andy Hancock/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
The ESPN broadcast spotted Reese waving goodbye as she went back to her bench. Boldyreva played 16 minutes in the game and had nine points. LSU was only up six points at that point, but it seemed to turn the game around.
LSU went on to win the game 83-56, but Reese's action didn’t go unnoticed on social media.
"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 on X.
"Angel Reese waving bye bye as opponent fouls out. When people say she has no class, look no further. And her coach condones it," another fan added on X with clown emojis.
But fans of Reese came to her defense.
Angel Reese, #10 of the LSU Tigers, attempts to guard Savannah Wheeler, #4 of the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, during the first quarter during the second round of the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 24, 2024, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Andy Hancock/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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"I love that Angel Reese knows y’all are gonna talk trash about her and still does whatever she wants to do," one Reese fan wrote. "She a real one and y’all can’t stand it."
Another added that they wanted more trash talking in sports and had no problem with Reese’s energy.
Reese came under similar scrutiny in last year’s national championship against Iowa when she proceeded to give Caitlin Clark some of her own trash talk back at her. LSU topped Iowa to win the national title.
She finished the game with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Her point total was one shy of tying Flau’jae Johnson for the most in the game.
LSU forward Angel Reese and forward Amani Bartlett (2) celebrate after defeating Middle Tennessee in a second-round college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament in Baton Rouge, La., Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The Tigers will face off against the winner of UCLA and Creighton in the Sweet 16. Should Iowa get past West Virginia and then Colorado, the Hawkeyes and Tigers could potentially meet in the regional final.
The Blue Raiders finished their season 30-5. The team upset Louisville to get to the round of 32.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
