Angel Reese Praises Ejected Sky Teammate After Physical Skirmish vs Sun
Both the Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky have had disappointing 2025 WNBA seasons. In fact, these two teams have the league's two worst records (8-23 for the Sky and 5-26 for the Sun) right now, and that doesn't appear to be changing any time soon.
The good news is that at least one of these teams will secure a win on August 13, since they're currently playing each other. But frustration seemed to boil over at one point in the game, which led to multiple ejections.
At one point in the first half, Sun player Bria Hartley and Sky player Rebecca Allen were jockeying for position in the paint when a shot went up. Once another Sun player corralled the rebounds, Hartley appeared to shove Allen to the ground. Hartley then stumbled forward, and when she did, Allen grabbed her jersey and seemed to try and pull her downwards.
Sun vs. Sky Physical Skirmish Details Continued
From there, Hartley hovered over Allen for a moment, apparently talking down to her before she was pushed away by a teammate. Things seemed to have simmered down for a brief moment before Sky standout Ariel Atkins came storming in and went at Hartley, which reignited the chaos.
Ultimately, a referee got in between Allen and Hartley, and then more or less ended the fracas. As a result of what went down, Hartley, Allen, and Atkins were all ejected from the game.
Status alert: Bria Hartley, Rebecca Allen, Ariel Atkins have been ejected Wednesday.pic.twitter.com/YT0aoXcGVu
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) August 13, 2025
Angel Reese Praises Ariel Atkins for Role in Skirmish
While Ariel Atkins has only been on the Sky for this 2025 season, Wednesday isn't the first time she has jumped to a teammate's defense.
After a June 10 game, when Angel Reese was asked about a flagrant foul she had on Liberty player Leonie Fiebich, Atkins interjected and said, "This is a 23-year-old kid. And the amount of crap that she gets on a day-to-day, and she still shows up. So whatever questions y'all got about our team, basketball-wise, we appreciate it. But all the other nonsense, it's irrelevant.
"This is a 23-year-old kid who handles herself with grace. Her crown is heavy! So whatever else y'all want to come at her for the way that she acts, she has to build the wall... So whatever other questions y'all got, I'm hoping it's just about basketball," Atkins added.
And Angel Reese (who isn't with the team on August 13) took note of Atkins defending another teammate on Wednesday, as shown by an X post moments after the skirmish that read, "ARIEL A REAL ONE. BEEN."
ARIEL A REAL ONE. BEEN.
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) August 13, 2025
Atkins is clearly winning a lot of brownie points with her Chicago teammates.
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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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