WATCH: Alyssa Thomas hits Angel Reese in throat; gets ejected for hard foul

Credit: X

Credit: X

Alyssa Thomas, the Connecticut Sun forward, committed a wicked flagrant 2 foul on Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky during an attempt at a rebound in the WNBA showdown at the Wintrust Arena. It led to the officials ejecting Alyssa from the game, while the 7th overall pick  in the  WNBA 2024 draft  continued to fight for the Sky in a back-and-forth battle on the court.

The first half of the game saw the Chicago Sky take a 50-42 lead, thanks mainly to the stout play from Angel Reese and Marina Mabrey. But, around the time Thomas committed a flagrant 2 foul on Reese, the experience of the Connecticut Sun started to reflect on the game’s proceedings.

The Connecticut Sun took the lead of the game late in the third quarter before they kept the Chicago Sky at bay to register an 86-82 win, their fifth in a row in the new WNBA season. The first outing for the Sky team at home wasn’t the best one, meaning that they are 2-2 after the first four games in the league.

In the post-game press conference, when the rookie forward Angel Reese was asked about whether Alyssa Thomas tried to send a message to her with the wicked foul, she responded, as per ClutchPoints, “[Thomas’ and other players ‘physical play] is not just because I’m a rookie. I’m a player. They don’t give a damn if I’m a rookie. I mean, I want them to come at me every day. They’re not supposed to be nice to me.”

Reese also spoke about the coaching staff at the Chicago Sky trusting her to get the job done and said, “You can’t take plays off. There’s no player in this league where you can just sag off or take a play off and be lazy…But I have a coaching staff and teammates that really trust me, and I appreciate their confidence in me.”

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Alyssa Thomas ejected after hard foul, Flagrant 2 on Angel Reese

Angel Reese made her home debut in Chicago on Saturday, and the Sky crowd was treated to some extracurricular activities during the opener.

Alyssa Thomas ejected after hard foul, Flagrant 2 on Angel Reese - The Athletic

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.

Alyssa Thomas EJECTED for hard foul on Angel Reese | WNBA on ESPN

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.

🤐 Angel Reese TAKEN DOWN By The NECK, Alyssa Thomas EJECTED With FLAGRANT 2 | Chicago Sky vs Sun

After the game, Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon said she didn’t think an ejection was coming.

“I never even saw the replay,” Weatherspoon said on the foul. “I just heard what Angel said and I figured something was going to come back. I didn’t know what was going to come back.”

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.

“No hard feelings to AT,” Reese said postgame. “I know she purposely probably didn’t do it towards me, but just being able to come out there and just be strong and stand on two feet, it was going to be a tough game and that’s what I’m built for.”

“It’s not just because I’m a rookie. I’m a player. I’m a basketball player. They don’t give a damn if I’m a rookie. I mean, I want them to come at me every day. I want them to come at everybody. I mean, they’re not supposed to be nice to me. I hope y’all know that. They’re not supposed to be nice to me or lay down because I’m Angel Reese or because I’m a rookie. Like, thank you AT for sending a message to me because I got back up and I kept going to keep and kept pushing like me and AT have been cool since we were at Maryland so I know it’s no hard feelings. I appreciate her for going at me today.”

 

Reese has been arguably the most consistently productive rookie during her debut season, posting double-digit scoring outputs in every game to go along with 8.7 rebounds per outing. The Sky were 2-1 entering the matchup against Connecticut, coming off an upset of the Liberty in New York while the Sun were the WNBA’s lone remaining undefeated team.