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WNBA Rookie Makes History Against Angel Reese, Chicago Sky

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Rex Villas | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 7:35 AM ET

History was made in the opening quarter of Tuesday night's meeting between the Seattle Storm and the Chicago Sky.

With a little over a minute left in the first period, Gabby Williams and rookie center Dominique Malonga connected on a well-run pick-and-roll play, with the latter finishing with a bucket in the paint to tie the score at 18-18. More than just that, Malonga's basket was also her 100th field goal in the WNBA, a milestone that earned her a place in the league's history books.

"With this basket, Dominique Malonga became the first player in WNBA history to make 100 field goals before turning 20 years old," the Storm shared in a post on X.

With this basket, Dominique Malonga became the first player in WNBA history to make 100 field goals before turning 20 years old. https://t.co/1QMvrvDnDT
— Seattle Storm PR (@SeattleStormPR) August 20, 2025

As for the play itself, that was a great read of the Sky’s defense by the French pair, as they recognized a vast gap on the right side of the court. Williams made a great decision to put the ball on the floor and attack the lane to attract multiple defenders, thus freeing up the rolling Malonga.

The 19-year-old Malonga, who is still months away from her 20th birthday in November, finished the Sky game with 15 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field while adding seven rebounds and three blocks in 19 minutes of action off the bench, helping Seattle score a 94-88 win.

The potential to become a star is clearly there, given her physical attributes and skills. Selected second overall in the 2025 WNBA draft by the Storm, Malonga stands 6-foot-6 and has a 7-foot-1 wingspan.

So far in the 2025 WNBA regular season, Malonga is averaging 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.5 blocks and 0.3 steals per game.

Storm spoil Angel Reese's return to action

The Storm's win dashed an exciting development for Chicago, which got star forward Angel Reese back from a long absence. Reese missed seven games in a row because of a back injury.

Reese played well, scoring 19 points, grabbing seven boards, dishing out four dimes and recording a block, though she committed four turnovers in 26 minutes.

Seattle got back to .500 again with an 18-18 record after its victory, while Chicago lost its fifth straight contest and dropped to 8-26.

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

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