The Chicago Sky, after getting eliminated from the playoffs, vowed to finish the season strong. “We still got an opportunity to compete and to win games,” Tyler Marsh had confidently expressed. And hours later, they were walking the talk, holding down New York 91-85 to snap a 5-game skid. With Connecticut next on schedule, that confidence was poised to see Chicago’s win column enter double digits. But then the game tipped off, and the clock struck twelve for the Sky. Actually, more so for Angel Reese.

Nothing went Chicago’s way today. They had to play the entire second half without their head coach, Tyler Marsh, after a fierce ejection two minutes into the second quarter. “It’s been egregious all year,” the HC said, while official crew chef Eric Brewton mentioned in his post-game pool report: “He aggressively came onto the floor after the lead official after a no-call that was called and so that’s why he was ejected for aggressively attacking; I shouldn’t say attacking, but aggressively approaching the official.” And perhaps the ejection was exactly when luck stopped favoring the team altogether.

After Marsh’s dismissal, and before the Sun took the win 94-84, Angel Reese also got into a tussle in the third quarter. Leila Lacan was pressuring the Chicago Sky forward’s dribble, and backed her into a tough spot near the sideline. In attempts to create space for herself, Reese caused injury to Lacan’s eye. In a video shared by BricksCenter on August 22 captioned, “Angel Reese didn’t like getting pressured and SCRATCHED her defenders eye 💀”, Lacan was seen immediately bringing both her hands to her face. This followed another close-up shot that showed the player sitting on the bench with a swollen and bluish right eye, as a medical professional checked it out.

“You’re only allowed so much contact,” a commentator was heard saying as the replay of the contact played out on the screen.

With the distaste mounting for physicality across the league, the WNBA community did not take kindly to her actions. We have seen Bria Hartley on the receiving end of some heat of late, following ejections against the Sky and the injury instance around Sophie Cunningham.

Now, with the six-foot-three forward being a polarizing figure in the league, the callouts were quick.

Fans call out Angel Reese for injuring Connecticut guard

Angel Reese is an unapologetically loud personality. That has meant, either a loyal fanbase or a loud watch group. And with the league suffering from an injury bug, it didn’t earn her any favors from the community. Not to mention, her frequent troubles of finishing at the rim has already set the criticism in place.

So, when Leila Lacan ended up injuring her eye while guarding Reese, social media had a massive meltdown. Connecticut Sun supporters accused the six-foot-three star of being purposely violent, while others questioned her ability to play basketball and deal with pressure.

One fan on X gave AR a simple ultimatum. “If you can’t handle the pressure don’t play the game,” they said. After Angel Reese’s recent improvements, this comes as an unwelcomed hurdle. Over the last two months, the Chicago Sky center has shown that she’s capable of bringing the ball down the court, and creating plays for her teammates. She efficiently took on the point-forward’s role, leading the team with 3.6 assists. But the incident very easily marred the growth. “Angel’s bag is a wet paper sack lmao,” another fan said, calling out the forward’s ability to handle the ball.

But it wasn’t all about Reese’s ability and game play. The league has seen physicality make headlines more often than they’d like this season. The infamous Jacy Sheldon-Caitlin Clark-Marina Mabrey scuffle raised eyebrows when there were no ejections. The result? Cunningham had entered to take the matters in her own hands. So with what transpired tonight, that was the spectators’ first question.

“Was she ejected? That is not a basketball play, clearly the motion was intended to injure and/or send a message,” a concerned user tweeted. While Lacan exited the game with a right eye injury, there were no ejections or flagrant fouls. “Why was she not given a tech?? She should be fined. She just blatantly took her off hand, reached up, and scratched her in the eye. What’s going on??” another questioned.

Looking at the video, there were no deliberate scratches involved. The Connecticut Sun guard held her eye after bumping into Reese’s shoulder. So while outrage was the common sentiment, some tried to get the facts straight. “I think it was for head-to-head/eye. Ouch.”

Ejections and fouls or not, the Chicago Sky were not able to match strides with the Sun throughout the game. Marina Mabrey & Co. dominated every second of every quarter to take home the win 94-84. Angel Reese, Tyler Marsh, and the rest of the squad are once again forced to re-evaluate where they stand, and where they want to finish.