While Angel Reese is putting together the best campaign of her career, averaging a career-high 14.8 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, the whistles around her have generated a lot of debate. So when the refs called another controversial offensive foul during the Dream vs. the Golden State Valkyries, she told the refs, “It’s a flop.” However, the replay convinced a WNBA broadcaster that the officials made the right call.
“She makes contact. Absolutely,” the broadcaster said while reviewing the play, as the officials announced that replay supported the call.
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The sequence that had everyone divided unfolded with 2:46 remaining in the second quarter when Atlanta was trailing by three points. Angel Reese received the ball with Laeticia Amihere defending her, and she quickly spun toward the basket in an attempt to create space for a shot.
However, as she turned, her elbow appeared to catch Amihere in the face, sending the Valkyries forward to the floor. Now, in a year where the WNBA wants to crack down on the physicality in the league, the officials immediately blew the whistle for an offensive foul.
Just one game earlier against the Washington Mystics, Angel Reese picked up her sixth technical foul of the season. After that, Reese is now leading the league in technical fouls, making every whistle involving her an even bigger talking point.
Fortunately, none of the six fouls she committed against Golden State were technical fouls. Still, that didn’t stop her teammates from voicing their frustration over how often she seems to end up on the wrong side of the whistle.
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“You just gotta keep playing,” Dream’s Allisha Gray said. “The refs are trash, but we’re moving on from that. We just got to lock in, stick to the game plan and keep playing aggressive.”
When the Dream lost to the Mystics, even Jordin Canada openly criticized the officiating, arguing that Angel Reese repeatedly absorbs contact without receiving the benefit of the whistle. “I don’t know how many times Angel has to get beat up in the paint. It was blatant tonight. Every time she had a fast-break layup, she was getting hacked in the paint, no foul calls,” argued Canada.
Despite the foul trouble, the Atlanta forward delivered another double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. However, this was Atlanta’s fifth straight loss. While the Dream did manage to string together four straight wins, they’ve now lost six of thier last 10 games.
Foul trouble, missed opportunities, and lack of late-game execution once again haunted them in their 88-83 loss against the Golden State Valkyries. The team looked like a legitimate championship contender after its 12-4 start to the season.
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