SAN FRANCISCO – Angel Reese wedged herself in the paint, peeking at the rim while warding off one, two and sometimes three Valkyries on Friday night at Chase Center.
When the shot clanged off the rim, that was when the second-year LSU product showed off her full breadth of rebound-gobbling skills.
She would subtly hip-check an adversary on one play, and spin off an opposing post on another. Sometimes, she would just straight-up power through probable fouls and grab the loose basketball.
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase knew how potent and crafty Reese was under the rim, and her team still was unable to stop her.
“She does it really timely, as she looks up,” Nakase said about her ability to knock the boxing out player out of position. “It’s not just the the location, it’s the timing of when she bonks.”
At the end of the day, the stat sheet read 17 points and 18 rebounds, with seven of those coming on the offensive glass.
The Valkyries may have come away with the 83-78 victory, but Reese’s excellence down the stretch helped make it close.
“We had to find other ways to score tonight, but our team continued to push through it,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said.
Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese (5) looks to shoot the ball against Golden State Valkyries’ Monique Billings (25) in the third quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
She grabbed only one of her famed “MeBounds,” which is Reeses’ trademarked nickname for pulling in one of her own misses, but still gobbled up six other offensive boards.
It was just another typically prolific night on the glass for Reese, a polarizing presence whose admirers appeared to outnumber her detractors at Chase Center.
Reese received a rousing ovation during the pregame introductions, an honor usually reserved only for returning Stanford alumni and Caitlin Clark among visiting players.
“We usually get a lot of fans in the visiting crowd,” Sky guard Kia Nurse said of Reese’s popularity.
She entered Friday night leading the league in rebounds (13.1) and offensive boards (5.1) per game, and had grabbed 36 total rebounds in her last two games.
Reese’s relentless pursuit of missed shots – opponents’, teammates’ and her own – has been one of the few bright spots during an otherwise abysmal season for the 4-10 Sky.
The second-year post also paces the WNBA in double-doubles with nine.
Gaudy rebounding and point totals aside, Reese was not perfect.
She was called for a flagrant foul on Kayla Thornton when the LSU product whacked the Valkyries forward in the face whilst chasing a loose ball.
Reese also shot 7 for 16 from 3-point territory, and bricked on a few jumpers.
However, her most obvious gaffe – fouling Tiffany Hayes down by just three points with 22 seconds remaining and a seven-second difference between game and shot clock – was not her fault.
“That was all on me, that was my choice to have her foul,” Marsh said. “That was on me. It was a mismanagement of the clock.”
Reese’s next matchup with the Valkyries will be August 1 in Chicago.
Golden State Valkyries’ Tiffany Hayes (15) takes a shot against Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese (5) in the first quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)