Sunday night’s matchup with the Minnesota Lynx suddenly came with a question mark over Angel Reese. The trouble started two days earlier, during the August 28 meeting with the Portland Fire. A physical exchange in the paint with Carla Leite ended with Reese being assessed a technical foul in the fourth quarter. That technical was her eighth of the season, which under WNBA rules meant the consequence was automatic: a one-game suspension.
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But the story changed just hours later. After reviewing the play, the WNBA rescinded Reese’s technical foul, wiping away the suspension. Just like that, Reese was cleared to take the floor against the Minnesota Lynx. With that drama settled, it was time to turn to what actually happened when the two teams finally clashed.
Last night, with just under six minutes remaining in the second quarter, Reese drove into the paint and was double-teamed by Minnesota defenders. Courtney Williams then wrapped her arms around the ball in an attempt to tie it up. At that point, Atlanta was looking to extend its lead, with the Dream ahead 37-32.
Meanwhile, Reese appeared frustrated by the physical contact, and officials, along with Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, had to separate her from Williams to prevent the situation from escalating. Viral clip lip-readers later claimed that Reese exchanged words with Williams as they walked away. But what exactly did she say?
BrickCenter posted the clip on social media with the caption, “Angel Reese to Courtney: BALD HEAD.”
Another X account, HeroOfTheDay, interpreted the exchange as “Punk a**.”
So, what did the officials call on the play? Williams was assessed a personal foul for the contact, while neither player received a technical foul during the incident. However, podcaster Jaime Lardis wasn’t ready to let the moment go that easily.
Podcaster Jaime Lardis shared the clip on X and captioned it, “Angel Reese is such a wanna-be tough girl.”
But the physicality throughout the game did not go unnoticed by the Lynx head coach either.
Cheryl Reeve doesn’t mince her words
The game between the Atlanta Dream and the Minnesota Lynx featured 28 total personal fouls, split evenly between the two teams. Minnesota was called for 14, while Atlanta also had 14. That is a pretty staggering number.
After the game, Cheryl Reeve was vocal about the physical play and made it clear that her team needs to respond better.
The Lynx HC said, “We gotta handle physicality. We have to toughen up, and we have to exploit the physicality. We aren’t exploiting it. We are being guarded in a way that should be illegal, but we are not putting the referees in a position that they see it. So, you can’t fade away; you have to have a power way about you, right?”
The game featured plenty of pressure in the paint, with both teams battling hard around the rim. Atlanta scored 40 points in the paint, while Minnesota answered with 34, leading to repeated physical battles on box-outs and drives to the basket. The fight for rebounds was just as close, with Atlanta holding a narrow 37-32 edge on the glass.
Still, the officials managed to keep control of the game despite the physicality. But amid all the fights, Angel Reese added another major milestone to her resume.
She made history for the most double-doubles in a single season, reaching 29. Earlier last week, she also broke the WNBA record for rebounds in a single game with 26 and set the single-season mark with 458 on the same night. So, yes, it has been quite a week for Reese. However, a few moments from last night put some unwanted spots on what had otherwise been a fairy-tale stretch for the star.
Regardless, all the physicality also led to a heartwarming moment for Minnesota’s Olivia Miles.
Olivia Miles receives a memorable gesture
The physical play in the game didn’t leave Olivia Miles untouched either. On a baseline drive late in the fourth quarter, she faced a physical defensive contest at the rim from Atlanta’s interior defenders, resulting in hard contact that sent her crashing to the hardwood.
And despite the heavy impact, no foul was called on the play. Miles stayed down on the baseline briefly before shaking off the hit, getting back up on her own and remaining in the game to finish the fourth quarter.
After the game, WNBA senior reporter Megan L. Hall posted a clip on X showing Kayla McBride and Jordin Canada checking on Miles.
According to the post’s caption, McBride and Canada offered some words of encouragement to Miles as she walked off the court. It certainly made for a memorable moment in a game that had already drawn attention for very different reasons.
This was the final game for both teams before the FIBA World Cup break. WNBA fans will now have to wait for the schedule to resume before seeing these teams back on the court.