Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, longtime rivals turned teammates, had their best game together yet on Thursday as Team USA blew out Hungary 108-56 in the quarterfinal round of the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
Clark finished with 10 points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals. Reese added nine points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Both came off the bench, but their shared minutes gave the Americans a combination that could matter for the rest of the tournament: Clark setting up scoring chances with her passing and shooting, Reese doing the physical work on the boards and around the rim.
“Yeah, I mean, we’ve played against each other so many times. So I’m sure we know each other’s game. Like the back of each other’s hand,” Reese told TNT after the game. “So I just easily dished it off to her. She dished it off to me. She knows my slides. I kind of got one to her today or maybe two. So it’s fun. We just continue to build chemistry because we know we’re going to be USA teammates for a while.”
A clip of the two players talking and laughing on the bench during the game quickly went viral.
A rivalry years in the making
The connection between Clark and Reese has been building against a backdrop of one of the most closely watched rivalries in American sports. The two were first linked during the 2023 NCAA championship game, when Reese led LSU past Clark’s Iowa team 102-85 and directed a “you can’t see me” gesture and a point to her ring finger at Clark late in the game — a moment that set off a national debate over sportsmanship, race and perceived double standards. Clark had made a similar gesture earlier in that tournament and later defended Reese against the backlash.
Their 2024 Elite Eight rematch became one of the most anticipated games in women’s college basketball history, with Clark scoring 41 points and dishing 12 assists as Iowa beat LSU 94-87. Reese had 17 points and 20 rebounds before fouling out.
The rivalry carried into the WNBA after Indiana selected Clark first overall and Chicago took Reese seventh in the 2024 draft. Clark won Rookie of the Year; Reese led the league in rebounding and joined Clark on the All-Rookie team. Their pro matchups had tense moments too — Reese was hit with a flagrant foul for striking Clark in the head in a 2024 game, and Clark received a flagrant foul in the 2025 season opener for knocking Reese to the floor, prompting a brief confrontation before teammates separated them. Both players have said such plays were simply basketball and have pushed back on the idea that their competition is a personal feud.
Higher stakes now
The two had shown flashes of chemistry before, including during the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game, when Clark assisted Reese on a layup as Team WNBA beat the U.S. Olympic team. But this World Cup carries more weight — neither player made the 2024 Paris Olympic roster, and this tournament is their first senior international competition, a chance to position themselves ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Clark praised Reese ahead of the quarterfinal. “We’re both fiery, fiery competitors and we want to win and it’s one of the things I really admire about [Reese’s] game,” Clark told the Associated Press. “She’s competitive and she has a tremendous motor, like she has one of the best motors in the league. She works just as hard as anybody on the court. So, it’s been fun to be able to play with her.”
Team USA scored 36 points in the first quarter alone, led 59-30 at halftime, and shot 59% from the field with 31 assists on 40 made baskets. The 108 points were the most ever scored in a Women’s World Cup quarterfinal, and the win extended the Americans’ World Cup winning streak to 34 games, putting them two victories from a fifth straight title.
Team USA will face the winner of Australia and Spain in Saturday’s semifinal, with Clark and Reese chasing the same goal — for once, with the same fans cheering for both of them.
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