Women's Fastbreak On SI

Angel Reese Hypes Hailey Van Lith Up After Tough First Sky WNBA Basket

Angel Reese loved seeing Chicago Sky teammate Hailey Van Lith get her first WNBA bucket in front of LSU's home crowd.
Grant Young|
LSU Lady Tigers forward Angel Reese (10) and LSU Lady Tigers guard Hailey Van Lith (11) take questions from the media at MVP Arena, Sunday, March 31, 2024 in Albany, N.Y.
LSU Lady Tigers forward Angel Reese (10) and LSU Lady Tigers guard Hailey Van Lith (11) take questions from the media at MVP Arena, Sunday, March 31, 2024 in Albany, N.Y. | Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Chicago Sky got off to a solid start to their 2025 WNBA preseason by dominating the Brazilian National Team on May 3 by a score of 89-62 at LSU's home stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

This was a homecoming of sorts for both Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith, as both transferred to LSU and spent time playing for Kim Mulkey in their college careers.

It was no surprise that Reese returned to the fantastic form she displayed during her 2024 rookie season, as she finished the preseason game against Brazil with 15 points and 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes. As for Van Lith, she came off the bench for Chicago, adding 7 points and dishing out 5 assists in 13 minutes played.

Van Lith's first WNBA bucket came in impressive fashion during the third quarter, as she was driving to the basket and was fouled hard while putting a shot up. Despite this, Van Lith fought through the contact and made the basket, securing the And-1 opportunity.

Angel Reese was clearly happy to see Van Lith secure this memorable moment, as video has surfaced of her standing up on the bench and hyping up the Baton Rouge crowd after Van Lith's shot went through.

The WNBA's X account posted a video of Reese hyping Hailey up with the caption, "First preseason bucket for Hailey Van Lith and it’s an AND-1

"Angel Reese’s bench reaction says it all."

It will be fun to see these two continue to grow and develop on the Sky together.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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