Angel Reese never backs down from a rebound battle. That habit caught up with her on Thursday night in Indianapolis, during a Dream-Fever clash that already had plenty of edge to it.
With 5:45 left in the second quarter, Reese was boxing out Sophie Cunningham for position when she swung her elbow into Cunningham’s face. The referees called a common foul, Reese’s fourth of the night, and Atlanta coach Karl Smesko sent her straight to the bench.
“Angel Reese was hit with a common foul after catching Sophie Cunningham with an elbow to the face,” ClutchPoints wrote on X with a video clip shared of the play. “She has 4 fouls in the first half of Dream-Fever. Should this have been upgraded to a flagrant 1?”
It was not the first flashpoint of the night for Reese. Earlier in the quarter, she was caught on the broadcast mimicking Caitlin Clark’s flailing arms after drawing a foul call, a jab at what some fans call Clark’s foul-baiting. Clark supporters did not let it slide.
“It’s not foul baiting when you get a forearm directly to the head,” one fan posted on X.
Another added that Reese “hates Clark with a passion,” pointing to how often the two find themselves tangled up whenever Atlanta and Indiana meet.
Four fouls with two quarters still to play put Reese in real danger of fouling out. Smesko was not going to risk it against a Fever team that had won five straight coming in.
Indiana made him sweat anyway. Kelsey Mitchell drilled her 700th career three to spark a 13-4 run, and Cunningham’s reverse layup tied the game at 93 with five minutes left. Caitlin Clark finished with a game-high 26 points, matched by Mitchell, while Aliyah Boston added 23 points and eight rebounds.
Angel Reese Answers The Foul Trouble With A Statement Second Half
Atlanta did not blink. The Dream played the entire second half foul-free from Reese and answered the Fever’s tying basket with a 13-6 run built entirely in the paint. Atlanta scored 60 points inside on the night, exploiting an Indiana defense that had no answer for the Dream’s size.
Reese closed with 21 points and 11 rebounds, her ninth double-double of the season, sealing the 108-101 win with a layup and two free throws in the final half-minute. She is now six rebounds away from the fastest 1,000-career-rebound mark in WNBA history, a record Tina Charles set in 89 games. Reese can break it in her 79th.
None of that erases the question hanging over Thursday’s foul call. A forearm to the face that nearly fouled out a star averaging a league-leading 12.3 rebounds per game is the kind of contact that invites a second look from the league office.
Atlanta and Indiana do not have to wait long to revisit any of it. The two teams meet again Saturday at State Farm Arena, and after a night this combustible, neither side is likely to play it safe.
