The Chicago Sky was not ready for the storming Phoenix Mercury in more than just one way. One therein to face the heat was Angel Reese, who has had better nights shooting from the field. Alongside the disheartening 85-65 defeat with the team’s lacking efforts, the Chi-Town Barbie could not perform her best against the 3 Olympic returns – Brittney Griner, Kahleah Copper, Diana Taurasi – and Co. But that wouldn’t stop the rookie from finding her ways in one of her best-known aspects either.

The hosts were in for a thrilling evening. While they may have hoped for the home game to be an easy task over the tired Mercury, things took a bad turn. The Sky had an excruciatingly slow start. With Angel Reese at the forefront of the defeat. Tonight, the rookie missed wide-open layups from right under the basket. She only grabbed 4 of 14 shots from the field – making this her 5th lowest performance this season with 28.6%. She also ended her night with 11 points after entering the second half with only 3 points by her name.

Nevertheless, her skills in the paint were undoubtedly as immaculate as ever. She almost trailed her best of 19 boards as she wrapped up the game with 15 rebounds. Of these, 8 were offensive rebounds. With this, she set a mark for most O-boards in a season. Her eighth and historic offensive rebound came just a couple of minutes into the second half. She left behind Sylvia Fowles (117) with her 118 boards tonight to grab the franchise record.

Moreover, Angel Reese also made WNBA history as she stands as the only player in the league to surpass 300+ rebounds in their first 25 games in the league. Still, making sure that her team remains in the playoffs is quite essential for the seventh overall pick as it will create her ROTY case. But surely, the entire roster is also just as responsible for the looks.

Angel Reese, Sky enter WNBA’s second half in the worst form

The Phoenix Mercury met with the Sky for the very first time this season. Whether you call it the motivation of Kahleah Copper to outperform her former team or Chennedy Carter’s absence that hit Chicago, the Sky did not seem to be on their feet tonight. In their previous 24 games, the world has enjoyed their aggressive fast-paced game. However, all of that did not come out tonight in the Wintrust Arena.

Dana Evans became the team leader in scoring with 14 points off the bench. Kamilla Cardoso joined Angel Reese as the only player in the starters to grab double-digit scores with 10 points and 5 rebounds. Of course, she was paired with the 6-ft-9 center of the visitors– Brittney Griner– who affected her capacity to shoot her shots. Another key player apart from Carter who was not a part of the roster tonight was Elizabeth Williams. She was out due to a knee injury and has been adding 10 points to the team’s total per game so far.

While the Sky may have lost tonight, they will have more chances to avenge their loss against the Mercury soon. Angel Reese will now visit the desert for the first time after the All-Star Weekend in just three days. Surely, they will try to take down the Footprint Center just like Phoenix did to their home tonight.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.