The Rose Basketball Club, led by guard Chelsea Gray, defeated the Laces in a thrilling Unrivaled semifinals game that saw a handful of new players suit up for both sides.
Gray scored 39 points in the win as she served as the engine of the Rose's offense. The dominant scoring performance would mark the seventh time in eight games she would log 25 points or more in the newly-formed league, including 26 against the Laces a few games before. The Rose will face off against the Vinyl at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Monday in the Unrivaled championship.
Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese sat out of the Rose's first playoff win with a wrist injury. She will miss Unrivaled's championship matchup, according to a Monday article from The Sporting News. Reese injured her left wrist during the Rose's final regular season game last week. The Sky All-Star underwent surgery on her left wrist last September after a matchup with the Los Angeles Sparks. Guards Kahleah Copper and Arike Ogunbowale were listed as out with right leg injuries, according to For The Win Staff Writer Meghan Hall.
Can Reese's injury be a problem for the Sky?
The Sky will need Reese in a year where they pushed their chips in on winning now with several notable trades.
Chicago skipped a few steps in its rebuild when it traded a handful of draft picks for guard Ariel Atkins. Atkins, a defensive star for the Washington Mystics, could provide plenty of help for the Sky in a retooled backcourt that features an all-time Sky guard in Courtney Vandersloot. Chicago changed up its coaching staff to include a player development specialist in head coach Tyler Marsh and a former WNBA lead coach in Tanisha Wright. It even brought in a few seasoned players on training camp contracts, including a familiar face in forward Morgan Bertsch, as potential options to look out for before the start of its 2025 campaign.
Should it continue to be an issue heading into next season, it may hurt the growth of the up-and-coming forward and her team on the rise.
Reese ended last season with All-Star and All-Rookie selections after a year that saw her break the league's single-season rebounds per game record. Her stardom continued into the offseason, where she netted an extension with Reebok in October and landed on the cover of Vogue. Reese has the potential to have a breakout season with the Sky after earning Unrivaled's Defensive Player of the Year award and a spot on its All-League Second Team.