Angel Reese only needed 20 games to etch her place in the WNBA history books.
The Chicago Sky rookie set a new WNBA record for consecutive double-double performances on Sunday after logging double-digit rebounds and points for the 13th straight game. Reese broke the record in the third quarter of Sunday’s game in her signature style, launching to snag a ricocheting miss by Kamilla Cardoso and setting the ball back into the hoop for a pair of put-back points.
To set the new record, Reese surpassed former Sky star and Naperville native Candace Parker, who previously set the record with a 12-game streak between the 2009 and 2010 seasons. She had already passed Parker’s record for a single-season double-double streak in last week’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx.
The Sky lost 84-71 to the Storm on Sunday. Reese finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Reese averaged a double-double in the first half of her rookie season — logging 13.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game — and has not posted single digits in rebounds since June 1. The rookie leads the league in offensive (4.9) and overall (11.7) rebounds. Her performance on the glass helped to propel her to a first-time All-Star designation this season, one of only two rookies to be selected alongside Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.
With her name already ensconced in the league’s history, Reese is still chasing several WNBA rookie records. She is currently tied with former MVP Tina Charles’ record for rebounds per game average (11.7) and is on track to break her tally for total rebounds (398) in a single season. And Reese is a midseason frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award, jockeying with Clark in a two-player race for the distinction as both set rookie and league records in their debut seasons.
Reese will look to extend her hot streak in the final four games ahead of the WNBA All-Star break, which will begin on July 18 and extend through the Paris Olympics.