Angel Reese secured her place in basketball history during a 78-71 victory against the Los Angeles Sparks, grabbing 26 rebounds to break the single-game WNBA record previously held by Chamique Holdsclaw for over two decades, according to Sky Sport.
Rewriting the Record Books on the West Coast
The milestone evening on the parquet of the Los Angeles Sparks showcased an extraordinary individual performance that outshone a hard-fought contest. Reese finished the night with 11 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals alongside her 26 total rebounds, of which 8 came on the offensive glass, as reported by Pianetabasket.com. By eclipsing the previous single-game benchmark of 24 boards set by Chamique Holdsclaw for Washington on May 23, 2003, the Atlanta standout erased a record that had stood for 23 years.
The historic night did not stop at a single-game record. Reese also captured the single-season rebounding record, pushing her season total to 458 boards and surpassing the 451 marks set by A’ja Wilson during the 2024 campaign. This performance marked her 26th double-double of the year, leading the league in that category as her team closed out a perfect 4-0 West Coast road trip.
Shifting Momentum After the Break
The path to history required overcoming a determined Los Angeles squad that controlled the tempo early on. The Sparks capitalized on an 11-3 run in the second quarter to build a six-point advantage, led by Dearica Hamby and energetic minutes off the bench from Cameron Brink, who contributed four points and three blocked shots in her initial stint. Los Angeles carried a 37-36 edge into halftime.
The second half, however, belonged to the visitors. Atlanta launched a decisive 16-4 surge upon returning to the floor, anchored by the play of Allisha Gray. The Dream steadily widened the gap, taking a seven-point margin into the final period. Although Los Angeles mounted an 8-0 push late in the game featuring a three-pointer from Ariel Atkins, Reese sealed the outcome with a crucial basket near the rim in the closing seconds.
Milestones Across the Roster
Gray finished as Atlanta’s leading scorer with 20 points, while teammate Rhyne Howard added 18 points to surpass the career milestone of 3,000 points. For Los Angeles, Nneka Ogwumike posted a massive stat line of 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Hamby and Brink chipped in 15 points apiece. Ultimately, the Sparks struggled to find an offensive rhythm, shooting 38 percent from the field and 16 percent from beyond the arc while committing 11 turnovers.
With this victory extending their winning streak against Los Angeles to nine games, Atlanta and its star forward continue to generate momentum. As Reese prepares for upcoming international competition with Team USA at the World Championships in Berlin beginning September 4, her record-breaking trajectory shows no signs of slowing down.
