Did Caitlin Clark win an ESPY? How did the Iowa star fare against her archrival Angel Reese on the big day?
The number of awards Caitlin Clark hasn't won this year are easier to count than the ones that she has. On Wednesday night, she added the ESPY Best Female College Athlete to her bulging sack of trophies.
It was the second category that she had been nominated in, also being up for the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year. That award category also contained Clark's archrival, LSU Tigers star Angel Reese, and Brock Purdy of the San Fransisco 49ers.
There was a spot of controversy when Reese was announced as the winner of that category. However, Clark won the Best Female College Athlete award.
Clark won in a category that contained Jordy Bahl of Oklahoma softball, Izzy Scane of Northwestern lacrosse and Trinity Thomas of Florida gymnastics.
Caitlin Clark won Best Female College Athlete at the #ESPYS
Some of her games
41 PTS, 12 AST, 10 REB, 8 3PT
45 PTS (16/28 FG)
42 PTS, 8 AST, 7 REB
30 PTS, 17 AST, 10 REB
30 PTS, 8 AST, 8 3PT
28 PTS, 15 AST, 10 REB
23 PTS, 14 AST, 10 REB
https://t.co/Vum6JkFL3w
The ESPY award comes days after being named among a distinguished cast, including Victor Wembanyama, in Sports Illustrated's Future Power Players list.
Controversy follows absent Caitlin Clark
Even on a night when she was not present, controversy still dogged Caitlin Clark. When Clark did not win the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, losing it to Angel Reese, the two camps supporting the prospects were already on edge.
When during her acceptance speech, Angel Reese promised another LSU title, there were grumblings of her overconfidence on Twitter. When she pulled out John Cena's "you can't see me" gesture again, social media erupted.
The gesture was the topic of debate during the NCAA tournament when Caitlin Clark used it against Louisville in the Elite Eight after hitting her sixth 3-pointer.
It became a hotly discussed topic when Angel Reese returned the favor in the championship game against Clark's Iowa when LSU's lead became unassailable.
Reese also used Steph Curry's "ring me" gesture, which almost broke Twitter. That move, likely also inspired by Joe Burrow doing so as he led LSU to the 2019 national championship in football, was used by the team throughout its NCAA Tournament run, as seen in the Lil Wayne-narrated video produced before the Final Four, below.
By all means, Caitlin Clark had an impressive NCAA tournament, shattering several records while leading Iowa to its first championship game ever.
Her back-to-back 40-point games against Louisville in the Elite Eight and Final Four against South Carolina, drew comparisons to Dawn Staley and Stephen A. Smith even called her the Steph Curry of college basketball.
When Angel Reese was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, there was heated debate on whether she merited it over Caitlin Clark, who broke the tournament record for most points with 191.
Clark didn't seem too bothered about her supposed rivalry with Reese. Even after the championship game, she simply shrugged it off and said that the trash talk was appreciated.
As the new season approaches, Reese versus Clark Round 2.0 is set to be spicy.