There’s more talent than ever in the WNBA, but chemistry is something that’s difficult if not impossible to teach. Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese, who once played together at LSU and are now reunited on the Chicago Sky, don’t have that problem.
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Reese is coming off her second straight All-Star Game appearance, and she’s playing even better than she did during her rookie season. She’s once again the league’s leading rebounder, only now she’s raised her field goal percentage while nearly doubling her assist rate.
Van Lith is in her rookie year after being selected with the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft. She hasn’t completely been able to find her footing yet, as she’s scoring just 4.2 points per game, well below the 17.9 she averaged last year at TCU. She does seem to be gaining the trust of Sky coach Tyler Marsh, though, as she’s averaging 24 minutes over her last three games.
Reese and Van Lith have begun falling into their old routine, and on the latest episode of Bleacher Report’s Film Study podcast, host Renee Montgomery took HVL through some tape that shows how the former LSU teammates work so well in the pros.
Montgomery highlighted a play in which Reese was doubled in the post, then kicked out to Van Lith for an open 3 that she knocked down. “Is that a play that y’all work on?” she asked. “Is that a comfortable you-and-Angel connection?”
Reese has been unfairly painted by some as a selfish player (see: mebounds), but Van Lith revealed how she’s actually anything but. “I know Angel’s game pretty well now, so I know whenever I give it to her, she’s a very willing passer,” she said. “And especially with me, she’s always yelling at me to knock 3s down.”
“So whenever she has the ball and I’m in the vicinity, I’m 100% moving my feet to try and get a window to be open, because I know that she’s looking for me,” Van Lith added.
Montgomery, who won a Sixth Person of the Year award, made an All-Star team and won two titles in her 11-year career, showed Van Lith how she could use her knowledge of Reese’s game to get even better looks, which will help slow the game down for her and make the Sky’s offense more efficient.
It’s been a tough season for the Sky. They’re currently 7-19 and losers of a league-high six in a row, but with Reese emerging as a fringe MVP candidate, their future still looks bright. If Van Lith can continue to get acclimated to the pro game and they add some more talent in the offseason, they’ll be a team to be reckoned with.
