Angel Reese stood straight up with her right arm extended as Shakira Austin tried to draw contact in the third quarter of the Rose’s game against the Lunar Owls on Friday in Miami.
Austin lowered her shoulder and took an awkward shot, trying to draw a foul on Reese, who tipped the ball. Austin recovered the ball and once again squared up Reese. Austin spun toward the basket, but Reese mirrored her moves, forcing Austin to throw the ball toward the basket in desperation.
After collecting the rebound, Reese turned back and looked at her opponent before heading down the court.
Reese finished with 22 points and 21 rebounds, becoming the first player in Unrivaled history to record a 20-point, 20-rebound game, to help the Rose beat the previously unbeaten Owls 72-63.
“You know, got to make history,” Reese said after the Rose’s fourth straight win. “Being able to see my growth, I put in the work and a lot of people don’t see what I put in. It’s great to see the results out there. But obviously, I’m not done yet.”
As Reese exited the court, she mimicked the Lunar Owls’ “Hootie Hoo” rallying cry, yelling the chant while flapping her hands. As she entered the postgame news conference, she sniffed a red rose.
“I think everyone just came out with an extra oomph tonight,” said Reese, who was coming off a 15-point, 16-rebound game. “We knew that they were 8-0, and no one believed in us outside of that locker room. It was just us. That’s all that matters. … It takes every petal to make the rose. And tonight, it contributed.”
Chelsea Gray added 26 points and five rebounds for the Rose.
“There has been a lot of chatter out there that I ain’t got it, and I’m here,” Gray said. “So, quiet the noise.”
The tandem of Gray and Reese has been instrumental to the success of the Rose and their hot streak as they head into the final weeks of the regular season.
Reese admitted playing alongside Gray was a struggle early at Unrivaled as she learned where Gray likes the ball and how to navigate her passing and facilitating.
“If you talk to her, she’ll say I’ve gotten way better at it,” Reese said. “Being able to have that kind of vet has been amazing. I love Chelsea and her energy.”
“There is a lot of communication,” Gray said about Reese. “She works so hard. She’s a force down low, she’s making shots, and when she is locked in on both ends of the floor, she is really hard to guard.”
The Rose (5-4) are third in the standings, a half-game back of the second-place Laces. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs in Unrivaled, with head-to-head records and point differentials serving as tiebreakers.
