Angel Reese made her home debut in Chicago on Saturday, and the Sky crowd was treated to some extracurricular activities during the opener.
With 3:41 to play in the third quarter, and Chicago trailing league-leading Connecticut by one, Reese jockeyed for position on an offensive rebound. Sun veteran Alyssa Thomas got tangled with the rookie on the box out and knocked Reese to the ground with her left arm, resulting in a flagrant 2 upon replay review and an ejection.
Thomas, who finished second in MVP voting in 2023, is one of the most physical players in the league but has only been whistled for seven flagrant fouls — all flagrant 1s — since being drafted to the WNBA in 2014. Her ejection is the first of the season across the league and cut short the matchup between former Maryland players.
Reese and Thomas had been battling on the boards throughout the game, with both collecting two offensive rebounds before Thomas’ exit but Thomas outpaced Reese on the defensive glass 4-1. Reese outscored Thomas 13-9 through three quarters.
Angel Reese spoke pregame about how excited she was to face off against Alyssa Thomas and Bri Jones, who she admired since they were at Maryland: “Those are players I’ve had my eye on.” pic.twitter.com/K0MJLbhZvb
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) May…
