SEATTLE — History hung in the air Sunday afternoon as Sky rookie Angel Reese worked her way through warmups.
She was her same composed self, undistracted by the clicking cameras as they focused in on her while she danced through her pregame post moves. But Sunday’s game was not like any other. Within reach for Reese was the WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles.
Reese made history in the Sky’s 84-71 loss to the Storm in a way that was reflective of what has made her so great early in her pro career. Halfway through the third quarter — after fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso missed a layup — Reese awaited the cleanup and put-back for her 13th consecutive double-double, eclipsing the record set by Candace Parker over the 2009 and ’10 seasons.
“I surprise myself every day,” said Reese, who finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds. “I’m supposed to surprise myself before I surprise others.”
Entering the season, the rookie double-double record was six consecutive games, set by Cindy Brown of the defunct Detroit Shock in 1998. Tina Charles matched it during her rookie season in 2010.
Reese passed Parker’s single-season double-double streak June 30.
“She might be surprising herself,” coach Teresa Weatherspoon said. “But she’s not surprising me. It’s something that you know she can do because she puts the work in to be able to do it.”
Beyond the work Reese is so often credited for putting in by her teammates and Weatherspoon, her innate ability to know where the ball is as it ricochets off the rim stands out.
Nine weeks into the season, Reese has coupled that skill with a degree of fearlessness that has made her a force on the glass.
“She’s relentless when it comes to how she plays,” Nneka Ogwumike said. “You can teach technique. You can talk about how certain things look and what people should expect when it comes to working on certain skills. You can have a skillful person, but if they’re not relentless each time, there’s only so far that skill can take them.”
Led by Ogwumike and Jewell Loyd, the Storm outscored the Sky 29-14 in the third quarter, erasing an eight-point halftime deficit. Ogwumike finished with a game-high 24 points, and Loyd had 20 after scoring two points in the first half.
Cardoso was noticeably absent in the second half, despite recording six points, eight rebounds and four blocks in the first half. Weatherspoon said the decision to play Cardoso for five minutes in the second half was a personnel choice.
Reese is the only rookie averaging a double-double, with 13.9 points and 11.7 rebounds. She leads the league in rebounds. Two-time MVP A’ja Wilson is second, averaging 10.9.
There’s more history on the horizon for Reese. Sylvia Fowles, the No. 2 overall pick by the Sky in 2008, owns the WNBA record for most rebounds in a season with 404. Reese is on pace to pass Fowles if she can sustain her 11.7 average.
That also would earn Reese the rookie record for rebounds, held by Charles (398). If she improves her average in the second half of the season, she’ll set a rookie record for rebounds per game (11.7), also held by Charles.
“I’m not satisfied with where I’m at,” Reese said. “I have coaches and teammates around me that believe in me, trust me, and I just continue to trust the process of everything.”
