LSU star Angel Reese recognizes that she's more than just an athlete. Reese spoke about her responsibility to be a leader in comments after the Lady Tigers's close victory over UCLA. Reese actualized her and her team's impact and how it affects young women who watch their success.

“I know I've impacted so many different people. Young black girls that look up in New York City, like you said, and see Angel Reese. Like, I know I can. They know they can do this. They know they can be in this position one day, and it's crazy. It's full circle. It's almost a year since everything has transpired, and our life has changed. Since the national championship, we ain't had peace, and it's crazy to say that. We won at the highest level in college, and we haven't had peace, but I wouldn't want to change this day. I wouldn't want to change where we are right now. I wouldn't want to change the three letters across my chest.”

She continued, “Cause it means something. And I want to be a part of history. I want to be a part of this culture, this sisterhood, and just keep winning and winning and winning. And we look back in 40 years and when we're old and sitting in our rocking chair, like Coach Malky always say, and just be like, we did that. Like we made history, like we were part of that and we were trailblazers.”

Reese has surely risen to prominence in her college basketball career. Originally a five-star recruit for Maryland, Reese transferred to LSU in 2022. She's made a tremendous name for herself in the sports world, becoming a household name and one of the more known college basketball players. Her contributions to women's college basketball have helped in boosting interest in the sport and its culture.

While she has an immense impact on young women around America drawn to he heightened level of play and confident swagger that she displays on the court, she also has an impact as a leader for LSU.

“The best way to describe Angel's leadership is by how hard you play in practice,” Mulkey said in February in comments obtained by The Daily Advertiser. “How hard do you play in practice as this last month comes to a close for her career at LSU. Just play hard. If she does, the rest of them will play hard and they'll play with a lot of confidence when she's playing hard.”

Reese finished this afternoon with a solid stat line: finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Her all-around versatility helped LSU elude UCLA and advance to the Elite Eight, where the Tigers will face off against Caitlin Clark and Iowa in a well-anticipated rematch of last season's National Championship game.