Sky hand Reese half-game suspension for comments about team

The Chicago Sky are suspending Angel Reese for the first half of their matchup Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces, the team announced Friday.

Chicago said it's punishing Reese for "statements detrimental to the team made ... during league-mandated media." The organization added that the "matter has been handled and resolved internally, and we are moving forward as a team."

Reese, who's already serving a league-issued suspension for surpassing the regular-season technical-foul limit during Friday's contest against the Indiana Fever, recently criticized the state of the Sky's roster in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. Following Wednesday's win over the Connecticut Sun, Reese revealed that she apologized to her teammates for her comments but suggested that some of her statements had been taken out of context.

"I just have to be better with my language because I know it's not the message, it's the messenger, and understanding what I say can be taken any kind of way, so I just have to really be better and grow from this," Reese said.

Despite missing three weeks in August while recovering from a back issue, Reese leads the Sky in scoring (14.7 points per game) and rebounds (12.6). She's also tied for second in assists (3.7). However, Chicago was mathematically eliminated from the playoff race shortly after Reese returned from injury and now sits one win clear of the last-place Dallas Wings.