Angel Reese previews guarding Hannah Stuelke, identifies how she's different than Monika Czinano
The LSU Tigers and Iowa Hawkeyes are set to face each other in the Elite Eight in a highly anticipated rematch of last season’s national championship game that will feature a ton of star power. That includes Angel Reese of LSU, who is going to be expected to guard Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke.
Ahead of the game, Reese previewed guarding the young Stuelke compared to her assignment last season in Monika Czinano, explaining how the two players are different in the process.
“I really like Hannah’s game,” Angel Reese said. “She’s a strong post player. She’s more versatile than Czinano, so I know I’m going to have to guard her much higher than I had to guard Czinano last year. Czinano was very, very efficient around the basket as well, and Hannah is, too, but I’m going to have to guard her more out of the paint this game. She also rebounds. She rebounds really, really well.”
“I think our advantage is going to be at that 4 spot. Aneesah [Morrow] is going to do a great job and then Aalyah [Del Rosario] being able to come in, too. We have some depth this year being able to do that.”
In many ways, this game is going to be viewed as Angel Reese taking on Caitlin Clark, with the two stars having clashed in last season’s championship game. That included Reese using Clark’s own “you can’t see me” trash talk against her and has a lot of fans excited even if the two aren’t lining up covering each other one-on-one every time down.
The LSU Tigers are coming off a Sweet 16 win over UCLA, where Angel Reese had a double-double, with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, Stuelke is coming off her own double-double in the Sweet 16 against Colorado, scoring 11 points with 10 rebounds. So, it’s safe to say that these two are going to be battling all game long.
As for the all-time leading scorer in college basketball, Caitlin Clark, LSU is expected to put Flau’jae Johnson on her, and Johnson is excited for the opportunity.
“She’s just a great player. Last year I got to switch on her early in the game, and I was like, ‘She’s not going to pull that for real,’ and then she pulled it for real from half court, and she made it. I was like, whoa. Kind of had spurts and moments getting in switches with her,” Johnson said.
“So it’ll be a good display for me. It’s just like I want to compete at the highest level, and right now Caitlin is the highest level. So if I can defend her, try to contain her and get the win, we’ll be fine. There’s no stopping her, but containing her, I’m going to take on that challenge.”
LSU and Iowa are set to tip off with a trip to the Final Four on the line at 7:15 p.m. EST on Monday, April 1st.