teammates

The Caitlin Clark–Angel Reese connection has been strong during the women’s FIBA World Cup.

The college rivals turned teammates on the U.S. national team showed off their growing chemistry in Team USA’s blowout victory against Hungary on Thursday in Berlin. The Americans knocked out their quarterfinal opponents 108-56, notching the team’s 34th consecutive win in World Cup play since 2006.

“We’ve played against each other so many times, so I’m sure we know each other’s game like the back of each other’s hand,” Reese said when asked after the game about playing with Clark. “Just easily dishing it off to her. She dishes it off to me. She knows my spots. I got one to her today, maybe two. So it’s fun. We just continue to build chemistry because we know we’re gonna be USA teammates for a while.”

The strength of Clark and Reese’s two-person game was on full display Thursday. Clark assisted on six of Reese’s nine points, and Reese returned the favor during the third quarter. After securing a steal, she hit Clark for an easy transition layup.

Reese ended the game with nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Clark finished just shy of a double-double with 10 points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Clark also has complimented Reese as a competitor and teammate during the tournament.

“We’re both fiery, fiery competitors and we want to win and it’s one of the things I really admire about her game,” Clark told the Associated Press in an interview published Wednesday. “She’s competitive and she has a tremendous motor; like, she has one of the best motors in the league. She works just as hard as anybody on the court. So, it’s been fun to to be able to play with her.”

Clark, who set records at Iowa, and Reese, who won an NCAA championship at Louisiana State, have been household names since their college matchups. Thanks to their intensely loyal — and often vocal — fan bases, that rivalry has been carried into their WNBA careers, where every matchup and interaction invites heightened scrutiny, especially online.

Clark told the AP that many of these stories about her and Reese’s relationship are “false takes.”

“No matter what, there’s always going to be people that create those narratives and say whatever they want to say,” Clark said. “There’s definitely no stopping that and they’re always going to be there.”

Reese and Clark are among Team USA’s young core, dubbed the “young and turnt” crew by teammate Paige Bueckers during training camp in December. The World Cup marks the first major international competition for six of those players: Bueckers, Clark, Reese, Aliyah Boston, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.

Team USA is set to play Spain in the semifinals on Saturday.

Almost every day, quarterback and left-handed ace pitcher Joe Bell looks out on the La Cañada High football field and sees faces so familiar he might as well be taken back in time to the days of playing in the sandbox, in the street, in the backyard or at the local park.

It’s so fun as a high school senior to know the person at your side has been your friend and teammate for years. It’s the magic of going to your neighborhood school and being a multi-sport athlete.

There’s his younger brother, Jake, a sophomore middle linebacker and his catcher since birth. There’s Brandon Mohaghegh, a receiver and outfielder; Chase Regan, a running back and second baseman; Ross Piken, a receiver and pitcher; Ethan Wong, a right offensive tackle and designated hitter; and Caythan Kim, a left offensive tackle and.outfielder.

They know each other from Little League days and earlier.

Yes, the group likes to go take batting practice together before football practice, and everyone agrees it’s the coolest thing.

“It’s crazy,” said Bell, who’s 21 of 29 passing for the 2-0 Spartans and was the Rio Hondo League baseball player of the year with an 11-2 record and 1.71 ERA last season. “It’s impressive. We go to the locker room, change our stuff and leave our gear. Playing multiple sports is the best thing you can do as a kid. It’s completely doable to do both. And if you don’t you’re missing out.”

Said football coach David Avramovich: “It’s very common for them playing long toss or being in the cage once or twice a week. They’re walking by with their bats.”

Thanks to Avramovich and baseball coach Nathan Bernstein each being multiple-sports advocates, everyone is on the same page supporting each other. Avramovich sits in the parent section for baseball games; Bernstein stands on the sideline during football games.

“It’s really good for them to take a break,” Avramovich said of his football and baseball players.

The Bells are a family of three siblings with great grades and great parents. Jake has a twin sophomore sister who plays volleyball and softball.

“I need 30 Bells,” Avramovich said. “They’re all awesome.”

Quarterback Joe Bell of La Canada runs for yardage. He’s also a standout left-handed pitcher in baseball.

(Lisa Mattmann)

Joe Bell, with a 4.1 grade-point average, is living the life of someone ready to be a Division I college athlete but comfortable and thriving in his neighborhood setting while going from one sport to the next.

“I’ve always played as many sports as I can,” he said. “I played soccer, pick-up basketball, baseball. I actually credit my success in sports keeping it fun. I go to the park to throw a football with my friends, then go play hoops in some backyard.”

Bell is 6 feet 1, 185 pounds and loves being left-handed.

“It’s pretty nice,” he said. “It’s like being an anomaly. I would go to these football and baseball camps, ‘Is anyone a lefty?’ It was great being in that special group.”

For the first time, his brother, Jake, will be his catcher on varsity.

“Jake’s a Dawg,” Joe said. “It’s like playing catch in the backyard mound we built. I’ve been playing with him since the beginning. I’d say, ‘Jake, do you want to catch a bullpen?’’’

If Jake says no, it will be the first time.

If anyone is not inspired by the Bells and their friends, then you need to think back to the way high school sports used to be with the focus on having fun and winning with your neighborhood friends.

At La Cañada with this group, it’s Back to the Future and a return to the 1980s.