Angel Reese, the rising star of the Chicago Sky, delivered a career-defining performance on Sunday. Reese shone brightly in a high-stakes, nationally televised game against fellow rookie sensation Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.
Reese was dominant, scoring a career-high 25 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and 16 rebounds, as the Sky overcame a 15-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Fever 88-87 at Wintrust Arena.
In their first two matchups, both in Indiana, the Fever defeated the Sky, but Chicago(6-9) was determined to get this win, especially Reese.
The Fever(7-11), who had won four straight, led by 12 points at the 6:38 mark of the fourth quarter. From there, Reese would score 10 of the Sky’s final 18 points, including the baskets that tied the game and gave Chicago the lead for good.
After the game, Reese, who recorded her rookie record eighth straight double-double, told us why she got the job done.
“I’m a dog,” she said. “You can’t teach that. I’m going to go out and do whatever it takes to win every single night. My teammates want all my energy, so being able to continue the energy even when we are down or even when we are up; that’s what I do.”
Clark also did not disappoint; she had a double-double with 17 points, including 5/9 shooting from deep, and a career and franchise-high 13 assists, but she did have five turnovers and only took one shot in the final three minutes of the game.
Currently, Clark leads the WNBA in turnovers, which is not surprising considering that she is a rookie, and rookies turn the ball over; she’ll clean that up as she goes along.
There’s still a lot of basketball left, but with the win, the Sky move into the eighth and final spot for the playoffs, while the Fever slide down to the ninth seed. The two teams will be play one more time in late August.
Looking ahead, the WNBA is in for a treat with the promising talents of Clark and Reese. Could these two become the Magic-Bird of the WNBA? Only time will tell, but their performances on Sunday certainly hinted at a bright future.
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