WNBA standout rookie Angel Reese continued to make history on Friday after another dominate and impressive performance for the Chicago Sky.
Even with the Sky dropping the contest to the Connecticut Sun 82-80 on the road, Reese joined the Atlanta Dream’s Tina Charles as the only rookies in WNBA history to record multiple 20+ rebound games. That is one shy of tying Charles for the most by a WNBA rookie; Charles’ 22 came back in 2010 when she was a member of the Sun. The Sky still have 12 games remaining on their schedule in the regular season.
After scoring 13 points and cleaning up the glass with 20 rebounds, Reese also became the first player in the WNBA to record 20+ rebounds in consecutive games.
The last time an NBA rookie posted back-to-back 20-rebound games was in April 1993, when the Orlando Magic’s Shaquille O’Neal pulled down 21 versus the Boston Celtics and 25 versus the Washington Bullets. Like Reese, O’Neal played his college ball at LSU from 1989-92, and he has been a big brother/mentor in her life. Reese helped lead LSU to the school’s first basketball national championship in 2023 over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes, 102-85.
Every time Reese steps on the court, it seems like she breaks another record.
Earlier in the week, she became the fastest player in WNBA history to record 20 double-doubles in a single season and has already shattered the record for most consecutive double-doubles in league history.
But while her personal accolades keep growing and growing, it is not resulting in the ultimate goal, team success. The Sky have lost three of their last four games since returning from the extended Olympic break.
Chicago dropped to 11-17 on the season and are currently holding on by a thread to the eighth and final postseason spot, one game ahead of the (10-18) Dream.
On Friday, Chicago was narrowly edged out by the Sun, which was led by Marina Mabrey’s shooting excellence. The former Chicago player knocked down five triples and finished with a game-high 24 points off the bench.
Reese, who is averaging a double-double with 13.6 points and 12.6 rebounds this season, will have the opportunity to get the Sky back to winning ways on Sunday, but it will not be easy, as they face the two-time defending champs Las Vegas Aces at home.
