Angel Reese will be suspended for Friday’s game against the Indiana Fever after receiving her eighth technical foul of the season Wednesday against the Connecticut Sun.
The foul call occurred in the final minute of the second quarter as Reese jockeyed with Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards for an offensive rebound at Wintrust Arena. Reese collided with Edwards back-to-back while attempting to gain positioning under the basket, then made contact to the side of Edwards’ head with the back of her hand while turning toward the rim. The contact occurred after the whistle.
The call was not initially called on the floor but was elevated after an official review. Official Randy Richardson told a pool reporter after the game that the review revealed a flail by Reese, which necessitated the elevation to a technical foul.
“Any contact to the head like that, we’ll just take a look at that for potential, just for the severity of the contact,” Richardson said. “We think it was just an unsportsmanlike act.”
A flail — an action that causes a player to hit another player in the head with her hand — often results in a flagrant-1 foul rather than a technical. Reese said officials told her they originally were debating between whether to give a technical or flagrant foul but ultimately opted with the former because it was “too late” to award a flagrant. Reese has received just two flagrant-1 fouls this season and would not have been suspended for Friday’s game if the call had been a flagrant.
“I think we’re going to go back and talk to the league about it,” Reese said.
Coach Tyler Marsh spoke with the officiating crew at halftime to further debate the call, and he received the same explanation — the crew was debating whether to call a flagrant or technical. Marsh said he did not receive a reason for the final decision. The Sky contested the decision, and the league on Thursday denied the appeal.
The Sky beat the Sun 88-64 for just their third victory in the last 20 games. Reese led the Sky (10-30) with 18 points and 13 rebounds, Kamilla Cardoso scored 16 points and Kia Nurse added 12.
The WNBA bet on the budding Sky-Fever rivalry as a major attraction this season. The teams were scheduled to play each other five times — three in Indianapolis, two in Chicago — with all five earning national broadcasts. The Sky moved both of their home games against the Fever to the United Center
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, setting a franchise record for attendance with 19,601 fans in their first matchup there June 7.But injuries for Reese and Fever star Caitlin Clark dulled the hype surrounding the marquee matchups. Both were available in the first matchup May 17 but have been unable to share a court since. Clark has played only 13 games this season with a combination of groin and leg injuries. Reese missed the last two games against the Fever because of a back injury.
Neither will play Friday.
Reese has received the most technical foul calls of any WNBA player, per Across the Timeline; New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud is next with six. Marsh has been called for five — more than any other WNBA coach. Reese shrugged off a question postgame about how the Sky have been officiated regarding technical fouls this season.
“It is what it is,” she said.