The streak lives on! Angel Reese has been compared to just about everyone lately. First, it was Alyssa Thomas, with her do-it-all role and point-forward instincts. And now, as she keeps snatching up 15-plus boards, there’s another name that fits even better: Jonquel Jones. Why? Well, Reese became the first second-year player since JJ in 2017 to post multiple 20-point, 15-rebound games in a season. Sure, the stats and records put her alongside WNBA legends. The attitude, though? That’s straight from someone much closer to the sophomore. But wait…she wasn’t the only one animated.

The double-double streak continued once again, but so did the heartbreak. Reese dropped another monster performance for the Sky – 15 points and 13 rebounds – but once again, it wasn’t enough. The Sky fell short in an 81-79 loss to the Washington Mystics, and this one had just about everything: chatter, fire, controversy, and moments that had social media talking.

The showdown, staged on the campus of George Mason University, had the energy, fueled by a crowd full of screaming youth campers. And right in the middle of it all were Reese and Mystics big Shakira Austin, going at it from tip-off to final buzzer. The two were battling on both ends – chatty, aggressive, physical. Things got so heated in the first quarter that both were hit with a double technical. But the fireworks weren’t just in the first quarter.

After the dust settled, head coach Tyler Marsh had to be calmed down too. He was just as angry on the sidelines, fuming and shouting at the ref after that final sequence. Even security had to step in while Sky staff tried to cool him off. This came right after his star player had her own fired-up moment.

With 31.8 seconds left in the fourth, the Sky managed to rally and tie the game 77-77. Then came a brutal sequence: Washington missed a layup, grabbed the offensive board, and drew a foul. The Sky challenged it, but the call stood. While officials reviewed the play, Angel Reese – clearly frustrated – walked toward the bench and smacked a clipboard right out of the hands of Ann Crosby, the team’s vice president of basketball operations and strength and conditioning coach. That moment blew up online.

To her credit, Reese owned it immediately. She posted a raw, unfiltered apology on social media. “Those — were pissing me off shoutout to Ann because she know it was the heat of the moment and she didn’t let me apologize because she knew! Not happening again tho,” she wrote. 

But honestly, the reaction, in a way, was understandable. After all, this was a tough, tough loss. Reese tied the game with two clutch free throws with 14 seconds left, only for the Sky to foul Shakira Austin on the next possession. Austin hit both from the stripe, and Rachel Banham’s last-second heave missed the mark. That was that. A 5-13 record for Chicago and another one slipping through their hands.

The Internet, though, is still busy dissecting the clipboard smack. While the opinions are mixed, you cannot help but notice one thing… it looked a little familiar. Any guesses? 

Angel Reese’s clipboard moment rings familiar

Remember back in January? The college hoops and Reese’s former coach Kim Mulkey. That infamous LSU-Oklahoma showdown had everything: over 50 fouls, two ejections, and yes, a flying clipboard moment. Mulkey was incensed after a tech, smacked a clipboard right out of the hands of assistant coach Seimone Augustus. Seimone just stood there, palms up, stunned. The internet had a field day. Now, months later, Reese seems to have taken a page out of her coach’s book.

Still, we have to admit that the fire came with production. Reese shot 5-of-9 from the field, got to the line often, and knocked down 12 free throws. It was a much-needed bounce back after she complained about the refs swallowing their whistles in the Sky’s last game. This time, she made them pay at the stripe. But even with all that, frustration boiled over again postgame. “We can’t let it come down to one possession,” Reese told reporters. “Refs made calls that they know are not right. They’ll look back and know that that wasn’t the right call.”

She’s been making her case loud and clear lately. After Sunday’s loss to the Lynx, where Minnesota outshot Chicago 17-8 at the line, Reese didn’t hold back. “I don’t give a damn if I get fined because that s–t cheap, and I’m tired of this s–t,” she said. “I’ve been nice and I’ve been humble, but I’m tired of this s–t.” And the numbers back her up. The Sky average just 18.3 free throws per game – 10th in the league.

But if there’s one thing about Reese, she doesn’t back down. “We can be sorry and sad for ourselves for a second, but we have to get back up tomorrow,” she said. Well, they must as next up, the Sky return home for what might be a must-win matchup against the upstart Dallas Wings. And they better grab that one because, after that, they face a brutal two-game stretch against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx.

If Chicago still has hopes of sneaking into the playoff picture, they’ve got to start stacking wins. Dropping another to the Wings could bury them even deeper in the standings.