CNN) — Both Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have been at the forefront of the explosion of popularity in women’s basketball over recent years – particularly on the collegiate level.Between their stellar play, expanding marketing opportunities and on-court rivalry, they have helped bring about a new wave of interest into the sport.
After their drafting to the WNBA earlier this year, that interest has transferred to the professional sphere, with the two players already making noise in the league.And on Saturday, Clark and Reese will play against one another for the first time in the WNBACaitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky will play on Saturday, June 1 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.Tip off will take place at 12 p.m. ET with the action being shown on ESPN and WNBA League Pass.
Reese could be seen moving her open hand in front of her face – popularized by WWE star John Cena to mean “you can’t see me” – before pointing to her ring finger in a gesture some interpreted as a reference to the place her newly acquired championship ring might sit. Clark had made a similar gesture to another player earlier in the tournament.
While both players have buried the hatchet long ago, it was a moment which caused plenty of discussion and vaulted women’s college basketball into the mainstream.
