Angel Reese #5 of Rose drives to the basket against Skylar Diggins-Smith #4 of the Lunar Owls during the first quarter at Wayfair Arena on February 21, 2025 in Medley, Florida© Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images
Angel Reese explained what has been the driving force behind her and Rose BC’s resurgence in the last five games.
After starting the Unrivaled season 1-4 and looking like they would miss the postseason, Rose and Reese rattled off five straight wins to rocket themselves to second in the standings. Only Lunar Owls has more wins, currently sitting at 9-1 after 10 weeks of action.
In Rose’s 71-59 win over the Phantom, Reese once again showed out, recording her fourth straight double-double in five games. Speaking to TNT Sports’ Taylor Rooks, the Chicago Sky star explained what her motivation has been amid the Rose’s winning streak.
“It’s a team effort. I mean, everybody stepped up and did their job. I think everybody just did their job, offensively and defensively,” an out-of-breath Reese explained after the win.
“We have a chip on our shoulder right now. Five-game winning streak, we keep going. They ranked us at the bottom. We was the last team, nobody believed in us. We believed in each other in the locker room, so we just keep proving each other right, come in every day and work, [and] the work shows.”
Against Phantom, Reese had another stellar outing, putting in 23 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing out five assists in the 12-point win. The 22-year-old’s performance against Brittney Griner is an encapsulation of how locked in she has been the last five games.
Angel Reese #5 of Rose celebrates scoring against the Lunar Owls during the third quarter at Wayfair Arena on February 21, 2025 in Medley, Florida© Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images
During Rose’s five-game winning streak, Reese is averaging 15.8 points, 15.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. For the star forward, what fans are seeing is the result of the work Reese has put in behind closed doors and shared how excited she was to return to Chicago with new teammates.
“I’m just trying to get better every single day,” she continued. “First one in the gym, last one to leave the gym. I just want to put in the work every day because I don’t ever want to feel like I’m out of work. The work gonna show, and I’m excited to get back to Chicago. Go Sky!”
Phantom star Natasha Cloud also noticed Reese’s elevated play and sent a pointed message to the Sky star’s detractors. “Yeah, I think you guys see Angel’s greatness obviously from college into her rookie season and there’s parts of her game that she’s going to continue to hone in on,” the star guard told reporters after the game.
“She’s finishing better right now, which I think is everyone like, y’all better give her her flowers as much as y’all —- on her too. About those finishes, right? So she’s finishing now. I think she’s also taking a lot of leadership with a Rose team that has done a really good job of getting themselves back.
“But Angel is definitely setting the tone for them. I felt it in the game tonight. I felt like she came out and set the tone early, even with pushing the ball in transition. So when you have that and then you have your other players around you matching your example, it just creates really good things. So again, caps off to them. They’re playing really well right now in the late stretch and making a play, of course.”
