Chicago Sky first-round pick Angel Reese was one of those glued to the WBC super lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. She came away impressed and took to social media to share her excitement.
The Haney-Garcia clash took an epic turn after Garcia scored what many considered a major upset by winning the contest by majority decision. He padded his cause by scoring three knockdowns through the course of their 12-rounder.
'King Ryan' dropped 'The Dream' in rounds seven, 10 and 11 before winning on the judges' scorecards 112-112, 114-110, and 115-109. Despite the win though, Garcia was not able to secure the belt as he went over the prescribed weight of 140 pounds, coming in the weigh-in at 143.2 pounds.
Angel Reese was left in awe with the exciting route the Haney-Garcia match took, writing on X (formerly Twitter):
"omg this fight is crazyyyy"
Angel Reese, too, is no longer a stranger to big matches during her time with the LSU Tigers, who she helped lead to the 2023 NCAA Tournament title.
In her final year with the team in the recently-concluded season, they reached the Elite Eight, before losing to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes, 94-87.
Reese, who played in Maryland in her first two years in college, finished her collegiate career with averages of 18.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks.
In the recently held WNBA draft, she was selected seventh overall by the Sky.
Angel Reese looking forward to the WNBA challenge with the Chicago Sky
After winning practically everything in the collegiate ranks, 21-year-old Angel Reese is looking forward to the challenges in the WNBA as she begins her league journey with the Chicago Sky.
The Maryland native was selected seventh overall by the Windy City team in the recently held WNBA draft after an illustrious college career at LSU, where she was an NCAA Tournament champion (2023) and multi-time All-American.
In a report that came out on USA Today on the day of the draft, Reese spoke about what her expectations are in the WNBA.
The 6-foot-3 forward said:
"I want to be a rookie again. I wanna be knocked down by vets and I wanna be able to get up and grow and be a sponge, so I'm just super-excited to play with amazing players and against amazing players."
At Chicago, she will be coached by Basketball Hall-of-Famer and WNBA legend Teresa Weatherspoon. They will try to improve on the team's 18-22 record last season.
With the Sky, Reese will also get to play alongside SEC rival and fellow rookie Kamilla Kardoso out of national champion South Carolina, who was selected third overall by the team.