Angel Reese flexes toughness in her first Chicago Sky home game highlighted by a hard foul — and a costly error

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Angel Reese was never going to settle for a quiet introduction in Chicago.

There was simply no way for it. The sold-out crowd of 9,025 at Wintrust Arena was filled with fans wearing her jersey. The announcer hollered her new nickname — “Chi Town Barbie” — after every big play. And in her first outing in front of a home crowd at Wintrust Arena, Reese delivered on the hype despite rookie mistakes that contributed to an 86-82 loss to the Connecticut Sun.

With newfound excitement flooding the Sky, the courtside seats for Saturday’s game were packed with local celebrities like co-owner Dwyane Wade, his wife Gabrielle Union, Chance the Rapper and Bulls guard Dalen Terry. But for Reese, the most exciting two people in the building were on the opposite team: Brionna Jones and Alyssa Thomas.

A Baltimore native, Reese had watched both forwards throughout their tenures at Maryland, where she also played her first two seasons of NCAA basketball. Ahead of the game, Reese expressed her excitement to face two players she had watched so closely during her formative years.

Jones and Thomas quickly put the rookie through the wringer, snagging offensive rebounds out of her hands and springing brutal double-team traps to force turnovers. But Reese gave as good as she got, scoring 10 points in the first half and frustrating Thomas by forcing a series of jump balls.

That frustration finally boiled over when Thomas earned an ejection in the third quarter when she grabbed Reese across the throat while fighting for a rebound, tossing the rookie to the ground in a hard foul that was quickly upgraded to a flagrant 2.

But Reese refused to label the play as purposeful, emphasizing there were “no hard feelings” and shrugging off the idea that Thomas came at her harder due to her stature or her rookie status.

“I’m a basketball player,” Reese said. “They don’t give a damn if I’m a rookie. 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 or lay down because I’m Angel Reese or because I’m a rookie. Like, thank you (Thomas) for sending a message to me because I got back up and I kept going and kept pushing.”

Fans gravitated toward Reese from the first moment she emerged from the Sky tunnel an hour before tipoff. A group of children with the Boys & Girls Club crowded the seats on the baseline during pregame warmups, gasping as they quickly realized their proximity only feet away from Reese and the rest of her teammates. The gaggle whipped out their phones, shouted out varied appeals — from “Angel, I love you!” to “Show me some rebounds!” — and cheered loudly every time Reese even glanced in their direction.

Fans also flocked to fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso, who has missed the first four games of the season with a shoulder injury. Despite not warming up and attending the game in street clothes, Cardoso signed jerseys and took pictures with fans ahead of the game and earned one of the loudest cheers during player introductions.

Photos: Chicago Sky lose home opener to Connecticut Sun 86-82

Reese paused before returning to the locker room after warmups to sign the jersey of 6-year-old fan Lillian Freiburg. When Freiburg offered up the rookie card of assistant coach Ty Young, Reese tracked down Young to secure an additional autograph.

It was a special moment for Freiburg, who admired Reese for her performance with LSU: “She’s really, really strong.” But for her mother Michele, watching Reese and the Sky take center stage on Saturday night went even deeper.

The Freiburgs have been season ticket holders for years. And they’ve waited for the rest of the city to catch on to what they love about the WNBA. With Reese at the helm, those new fans have finally arrived.

“It’s just the excitement you see in the fan base, the number of people that are showing up,” Freiburg said. “Players from long, long ago have paved the path for these young players to do what they are doing. It’s social media and their personalities that are really bringing other people in and they didn’t have that years ago. We’re thrilled that it’s getting to where it is.”

Reese delivered on the excitement surrounding her arrival in Chicago in the first half, scoring 10 points as the Sky took an early lead. But the second half was a learning experience for the rookie as the Sky struggled to stay ahead of the Sun, who dominated the offensive boards to keep plays alive for second (and third) chances. Reese took only three shots in the second half — and missed all of them.

The most painful lesson came in the final 30 seconds as the Sky attempted to execute a play to set up Marina Mabrey for a game-tying 3-pointer. Reese was tasked with the final screen to spring Mabrey into the corner, but didn’t set her feet before she collided with Dijonai Carrington. The resulting turnover sealed the loss for the Sky.

Head coach Teresa Weatherspoon said she wasn’t worried about Reese regardless of Saturday’s outcome, instead viewing the loss as a reflection of the rookie’s toughness and determination to improve.

“That’s who she is,” Weatherspoon said. “She loves this game and she takes on every challenge I put before her. Everyone calls her a rookie and yeah we know that she’s a rookie but she’s a player. She wants to compete. She knows she wants to compete against the best. And when you’re competing against those who have been here, who know how good they are, all that’s going to do is help you to grow.”

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