Angel Reese leaves Iowa game during second quarter with apparent injury

Angel Reese left Monday’s Elite 8 matchup against Iowa early in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury.

The star LSU forward stumbled out of bounds and immediately hopped to the bench for further evaluation. She went to the stationary bike to check her mobility and was back on the sideline within moments.

She returned to the game within 2 minutes of on-court action, but has been limping up the court.

Here's another look at the injury for Angel Reese. Tough to tell exactly what happened, but she was clearly in some pain after the play pic.twitter.com/REtRSexIGW

— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) April 1, 2024

After the injury, Reese stayed behind the action for the most part. She uncharacteristically stayed out of the paint. It wouldn’t be surprising if she was evaluated further by training staff at the halftime break.

Before her injury, the Hawkeye defense had no answer for the Tiger forward. She finished the first half with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists — which leads LSU in all three categories. Tied at 45 entering halftime, a healthy Reese could have taken over down the stretch in the second quarter.

Reese sustained an ankle injury during the SEC Tournament quarterfinals against Auburn last month, and had to be helped off the court. It’s unclear whether the injury sustained in-game on Monday is connected with her previous ailment.

Instead, she drew her second foul late in the half and sat until halftime.

LSU will need its star offensive rebounder if the Tigers want to down Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes for the second straight season. With a trip to the Final Four on the line, Reese’s team might need her to have to fight through the pain.

Catch the exciting second half live on ESPN.

Holly Rowe further explains rivalry between Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese

ESPN’s Holly Rowe further explained the rivalry, saying everything between Clark and Reese comes on the court. Both want to win at any cost and for 40 minutes, they are not friends.

However, when Iowa and LSU are not playing one another, Reese cheers for Clark and vice versa. The latest example was when Clark broke the NCAA scoring record despite surpassing an LSU men’s player.

“Angel Reese made it clear this week,” Rowe said during a pregame report. “She and Caitlin Clark do not hate each other. They’ve actually supported each other from afar. Angel sent out a great tweet when Caitlin broke the all-time scoring record. Caitlin has said ‘I think Angel is great.’

“They are just so fiery that when they step between the lines, there’s no friends. Two unapologetically, fiery young women facing off, both with something on the line.”

Read more from On3’s Griffin McVeigh here.