Hair-Pull on Angel Reese Ignites Heated Exchange in Sky vs Sun Clash

Teammates from both sides quickly rallied around to diffuse the situation, but tensions continued to simmer. As players were being separated, Sun veteran center Tina Charles became particularly animated—shouting across the court and needing to be physically restrained by both referees and teammates.

Officials paused the game to review the incident. After a brief delay, technical fouls were issued to Reese and Nelson-Ododa for unsportsmanlike conduct. Hartley, received a common foul, a decision that raised eyebrows from some fans and frustrated the Sky bench, as they felt the hair pull warranted a flagrant-1 given its unecessary nature.

The altercation marked a boiling point in an already physical game that featured aggressive play in the paint and tight rebounding battles. Reese, who has made headlines for both her gritty play and vocal leadership, stayed in the game and appeared energized afterward—grabbing three boards and scoring twice in the next few possessions.

Though the situation didn’t escalate further, the tension remained palpable, hinting at a budding rivalry between the two squads as the season heats up. But in this instance, Reese and the Sky got the best of the matchup, with Chicago notching the win behind the first career triple-double from Angel.