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Angel Reese Hypes up Sky Teammate After Ejection
Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

In the pantheon of ugly games posted by the Chicago Sky this season--and there have been many for a team that has gone 8-24 and has played nine games without injured star Angel Reese--Wednesday's matchup against the Connecticut Sun was among the ugliest. The Sky lost, 71-62, as Chicago shot just 38.7% from the field, 25.0% from the 3-point line and committed 19 turnovers.

It was the fifth-worst offensive production for Chicago this season, which is stunning because there have actually been four times when the team failed to hit 60 points. At 6-26, the Sun are the only team worse than the Sky this season, and at 74.8, they are the only WNBA team with a worse offense than the Sky (75.4).

But the ugliness of the game was magnified by a scuffle between the teams that yielded three ejections.

The play that started the confrontation came when the Sun's Bria Hartley gave Chicago’s Rebecca Allen a push in the chest in a fight for rebounding position. Allen hit the floor after the Hartley push, and Allen tried to drag Hartley down with her.

In the back-and-forth that ensued, Sky guard Ariel Atkins inserted herself.

The officials took a look at the play and ejected all three players--Hartley, Allen and Atkins.

Reese has been out with a back injury, but was watching from afar. She posted her backing of Atkins on Twitter/X: "ARIEL A REAL ONE. BEEN."

As for Reese, we might not see her on the floor again in 2025. The Sky's season is lost already, and the return from the back injury has no timetable.

"There isn't a concrete timetable as to the extent that I know," Sky coach Tyler Marsh  said earlier this month. "It's the back injury and she continues to be day-to-day ... I think she's progressing but still kind of wait and see."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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