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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese suffered an injury scare due to a flagrant foul in her team's recent game against the New York Liberty, forcing an early exit.
With 5.6 seconds in the second quarter, Reese was guarding Sabrina Ionescu when the Liberty star inadvertently smacked Reese in the face. Ionescu initially received an offensive foul, but officials upgraded it to a flagrant foul 1 after review. Reese was visibly shaken up after being hit in the face by Ionescu's arm.
The WNBA All-Star went to the locker room briefly before returning to make two free throws after being fouled. After that, she went back to the locker room for halftime and didn't return to her team's bench until 6:19 remained in the third quarter.
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Dream head coach Karl Smesko shared an encouraging update about Reese after the game, suggesting she will be fine to play again.
"She was cleared, but we made a decision that it would be smart for her to sit out the second half," Smesko said, per ESPN.
Reese had six points and six rebounds before sitting out the game, which was probably a wise move with the playoffs approaching, and the team doesn't need one of their top stars hurt.
Reese's situation arose after she was involved in a recent controversial call several days ago, also against the Liberty. While defending the Liberty's Breanna Stewart, Reese seemingly stole the ball on Stewart's late-game shot attempt.
However, Stewart immediately fouled Reese after the play and began yelling at a nearby official, resulting in a surprising technical foul for Stewart, who rarely receives technical fouls. Stewart later claimed Reese slapped her hand and even suggested she could pay the fine that accompanies a technical foul.
The Dream won Wednesday night's matchup 83-65 in the final game of the regular season for both teams. With the win, Atlanta improved to 30-14, while New York fell to 26-18.
Wednesday's result locked the Dream into the No. 4 seed for the WNBA Playoffs. Meanwhile, the Liberty took the No. 8 seed ahead of Sunday's playoffs, with the Dallas Wings getting the No. 7 seed.
The WNBA's regular season concludes on Thursday night when the Indiana Fever, Las Vegas Aces, Washington Mystics, and Golden State Valkyries, all playoff teams, will play, determining the remaining seeds.
More news: Breanna Stewart Calls Out Angel Reese After Technical in Liberty-Dream Clash
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