Angel Reese’s night against the New York Liberty was shaping up to be a reminder of why the Atlanta Dream star is one of the most productive WNBA players until a foul by Sabrina Ionescu changed everything. Just as the first half was expiring, Ionescu inadvertently hit Reese in the face with her elbow, drawing a flagrant foul.
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The sequence occurred with about six seconds left before halftime, with Atlanta leading 39-26. Ionescu brought the ball up the court, meeting Reese at the three-point line as the forward picked her up. As Reese attempted to reach for the ball, Ionescu inadvertently hit her in the face with her elbow, leaving Reese stumbling as she held her face.
The sequence was caught on the broadcast and posted to X by @UnderdogWNBA, who issued an update on Reese.
“Angel Reese (face) headed to locker room Wednesday. Sabrina Ionescu was assessed a Flagrant 1 for the foul,” the post read, while adding a minor detail in the comments: “Reese returned to the court to take her free throws before heading back to the locker room.”
The refs initially called an offensive foul on Ionescu. Play was then paused as the officials initiated a review, and eventually upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 1. Reese, who had exited clutching a cloth to her nose, hit two free throws, converting both.
Thankfully, Reese later made it back to the Dream bench during the third quarter, though she did not check back into the game.
The DPOY contender was not having her most impressive offensive night, but she still made an impact. She scored six points on 2-for-7 shooting and grabbed six boards, adding three assists and three steals.
It might have been a cautious decision to keep Reese out of the game, considering the Dream has secured a Top 4 seed and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Atlanta held the tiebreaker over the Indiana Fever, but won’t need it after having won against the Liberty 83-65.
The Liberty were without top scorer and former WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart, who was ruled out with a knee injury. When the two teams last faced off on Sep. 21, she had 27 points and 14 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to give her team the win, as the Dream won 95-84.
Our next look at Reese will be back home in Atlanta, as she and the Dream prepare to defend home court in Round 1 of the playoffs.