$1.7 million NIL-valued Angel Reese hypes herself up as LSU beats Alabama in 85-66 showdown via latest IG post: "I am really HER"
LSU star forward Angel Reese was at the forefront of the Tigers' Sunday afternoon comeback against the Alabama Crimson Tide to win 85-66 from a 41-31 deficit at halftime.
Reese took over the game after halftime and, with the help of rejuvenated guard Last-Tear Poa, dominated the Crimson Tide (19-7, 6-5 SEC) as the No. 13 Tigers (21-4, 8-3) employed a full-court press that smothered their opponents, outscoring them 54-25.
Reese, who has an On3 NIL valuation of $1.7 million, hyped up her performance on Instagram with the caption:
"ion sing R&B but i'm really H.E.R!"
During her postgame news conference, Angel Reese praised the relentlessness of the Alabama Crimson Tide in making the game a tight affair.
“I got to give kudos to Alabama,” Angel Reese said. “They’re a great team on the road, and I think they came out and made a lot of shots, and we had to adjust at halftime. We were down by 10, and then I think we just dominated the second half.
"It started with our defense and then, of course, getting our crowd into it. The students, they came out tonight knowing we don’t have school for Monday and Tuesday. They still stayed the weekend and came out to support us.”
Angel Reese leads LSU back to safe waters
Narrowly losing to Dawn Staley's South Carolina team was no embarrassment for the LSU Tigers, especially since Reese departed the game with 4:23 left on the clock due to fouling out.
Losing to Mississippi State 77-73 in the next game got the alarm bells in Louisiana shrieking, with the champion's downfall being heralded in all corners.
Since then, Angel Reese has steered her team to three consecutive wins, culminating in a comfortable win against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
After the 85-62 win against Vanderbilt, she explained how the Tigers got back on track after several demoralizing losses.
“Holding everybody accountable, looking in the mirror, and things that you need to work on personally that can help the team,” Reese said. “Just having each other’s back. I mean, that was something that we needed after a Mississippi State game. We were devastated, and we were really disappointed within ourselves.
“We didn’t point the finger at anybody else but ourselves, so just coming together and not touching the basketball really helps. I think we need to start doing that more.”
With Angel Reese also hitting form at the right time, just before the NCAA Tournament begins in a few weeks, the Tigers' mid-season wobbles might have been a blessing in disguise.