WNBA

Angel Reese adds 3-pointer to bag, closing gap on Caitlin Clark for Rookie of the Year

Angel Reese has added to her repertoire.

On Friday night in Seattle, as the Chicago Sky upset the Storm, 88-84, Reese had 27 points and 10 rebounds to extend her double-double streak to 12 games, tying Candace Parker for the WNBA record.

In an interesting wrinkle, Reese made both of her attempted three-pointers, her first two of the season after going 0-4 from beyond the arc in prior games.

Angel Reese made the first two three-pointers of her WNBA career in a Chicago Sky win over the Seattle Storm on Friday night in Seattle.
Angel Reese made the first two three-pointers of her WNBA career in a Chicago Sky win over the Seattle Storm on Friday night in Seattle. Getty Images

In four years of college basketball at Maryland and LSU, Reese only made five three-pointers — total.

“This is what I do. All I needed was an opportunity,” Reese told reporters after the game on Friday.

“Being able to come to Chicago and being able to be a stretch-four [power forward], and being able to have coaches and teammates surround me with confidence — they tell me what time to shoot it. A lot of times you’ll see me in the game, I won’t shoot it. Just from my own confidence-wise, I know I can shoot and I know I can make it because I do it in practice. I do it in workouts.

“But tonight obviously gave me a more of a confidence booster going into more games knowing I can make the shots.”

Chennedy Carter also had a dominant game in the Sky’s win over the Storm, scoring 33 points on 15-24 field-goal shooting.

While Reese’s longtime rival Caitlin Clark remains the odds-on favorite to win the WNBA Rookie of the Year, Reese has been closing the gap in recent weeks.

According to the latest odds on FanDuel, Clark is the favorite at -320 while Reese is at +210.

A few weeks ago, Reese was +2600 and there was a point where Clark was -1000.

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) is guarded by Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) on June 1, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) is guarded by Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) on June 1, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Earlier this week, it was announced that Reese and Clark will be teammates in the WNBA All-Star Game.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been her teammate before, even with USA Basketball or anything like that,” Clark told reporters on Tuesday.

“I know people are going to be really excited about it, but I hope it doesn’t take away from everybody else. This is a huge accomplishment for everybody on Team USA and everybody on Team WNBA. They all deserve the same praise.

“I don’t want it to take away from any of that and just be the focal point of All-Star weekend because that’s not fair to them. And obviously this is something that’s really hard to accomplish. The best we can celebrate all of them will be great and I’m just obviously going to soak in the experience because you never know if you’re ever going to be able to get back there. It’ll be fun for all of us, for sure.”