Angel Reese had just pulled off the best performance of her young career to help the Sky rally past the Indiana Fever and old college rival Caitlin Clark on Sunday in Chicago.

There was one more thing to do before leaving the court. She shared an embrace with Naismith Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes, a big supporter of hers and one of several celebrities in a sellout crowd.

“She talked to me before I even entered my name into the draft, and she told me she believed in me,” Reese said. “Being able to have that person in my corner is something I’ve always needed. She understands me, she knows what I’ve been through, what I’m going through.”

A game featuring some of the WNBA’s brightest young stars delivered in a huge way on a national stage.

Reese had her best outing, scoring a career-high 25 points to go with 16 rebounds to help the Sky rally from 15 down to beat the Fever 88-87. She extended her WNBA rookie record streak of double-doubles to eight games.

She is the first rookie since A’ja Wilson with 25-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in a single game, and she and Wilson are the only players in the league this season to have multiple games with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Clark, meanwhile, finished with 17 points and a franchise-record 13 assists. She made five 3s and grabbed six rebounds, but the Fever couldn’t hang on after winning their previous four games.

It was 84-all when Reese scored in the post to put Chicago on top for good with just less than a minute remaining following a timeout, drawing a roar from the crowd.

“I think people are just really excited to see this matchup and anticipate it,” Clark said. “Obviously, it’s two WNBA teams right in the Midwest, where I grew up. I think people in this area are just really excited about this matchup. You could just feel it driving up in the bus.”

Clark saw lines of fans — many wearing her Iowa or Indiana jerseys — outside the arena hours before tipoff. Courtside seats were going for $5,000 on Ticketmaster an hour before tipoff, and Chicago native Chance The Rapper, comedian Jason Sudeikis and New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson were all part of the sellout crowd.

The Fever had won the previous two matchups — both in Indianapolis — between the teams this season.

Clark and Iowa lost to Reese and LSU in the 2023 national championship game and avenged that loss in the 2024 national semifinals before losing to Cardoso and South Carolina in the title game.

Liberty 96, Dream 75 >> Sabrina Ionescu had 26 points and 11 assists to help New York win Sunday in College Park, Ga. Jonquel Jones added 15 points and 11 rebounds while Breanna Stewart added 17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks for the Liberty, who have won 11 of their past 12.

Storm 72, Sun 61 >> Jewell Loyd had 16 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds, Skylar Diggins-Smith added 13 points and 8 assists for the Storm in Seattle.

Mystics 92, Wings 84 >> Stefanie Dolson scored 18 points to lead five Washington players in double figures and the Mystics won at home Sunday.

Sinner, Pegula earn first championships on grass

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner won his first title on grass by beating Hubert Hurkacz in the Halle (Germany) Open final.

The 22-year-old Italian needed two tiebreakers to beat his Polish opponent 7-6 (8), 7-6 (2).

“I knew I had to serve really well and you play only a couple of really important points throughout the whole set,” Sinner said. “I’m very happy about this tournament because (winning) the first time on grass court, it’s a good feeling.”

The Australian Open champion improved his record to 38-3 this year.

The Italian reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year, losing in straight sets to Novak Djokovic.

Hurkacz, ranked No. 9, won Halle in 2022. That was his only other final on grass.

• Jessica Pegula saved five match points before beating Anna Kalinskaya 6-7 (0), 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the final of the Berlin Ladies Open.

“I played some really good tennis this week and I feel like I beat some really good girls, especially on grass,” the American said after her first WTA title this year and fifth of her career. “To be able to gut out a win like that is cool.”

It was also Pegula’s first career title on grass.

Pegula earlier Sunday resumed her suspended semifinal match against top-seeded Coco Gauff to win four of five points and prevail 7-5, 7-6 (2). Rain had interrupted the second-set tiebreaker on Saturday.

• Tommy Paul outgunned Lorenzo Musetti to win the final at the grass-court Queen’s Club, 6-1, 7-6 (8), in London for his third ATP title.

Paul became the first American winner of the pre-Wimbledon tournament since Sam Querrey in 2010 and joined a group of former American champions which includes John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras.

“Going through the hallways here in the locker room and the names on the wall, it’s unbelievable,” Paul said. “It was my goal always to put my name next to them.”

The 13th-ranked Paul will also overtake compatriot Taylor Fritz to become the new American No. 1.

Musetti, ranked No. 30, had won both of his previous two tour-level finals. This was the Italian’s first final on grass.

England rips U.S., advances to semifinals at Twenty20

Fast bowler Chris Jordan got a hat trick and the American cricket team lost five wickets in six balls as England secured its spot in the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Defending champion England crushed the United States by 10 wickets with 62 balls remaining in their last Super Eight game.

Jordan, who replaced pacer Mark Wood, grabbed four wickets off five balls in his last over to dismantle the U.S. for 115 runs in 18.5 overs and become the first Englishman to claim a hat trick in T20 internationals. He finished with 4-10 in 2.5 overs on the Caribbean island where he was born.

Pidcock, Lecomte win Cup races on mountain bikes

Olympic champion Tom Pidcock rode away from Mathias Fluckiger to win the mountain bike World Cup race at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in a strong performance ahead of his turn with Ineos Grenadiers in the Tour de France.

World silver medalist Loana Lecomte won the women’s race as she prepares for the Paris Games on home soil.

Pidcock, who overcame some trouble to narrowly win the short-track race Saturday, had no problem on the cross-country course in southwest Switzerland. He finished in 1 hour, 26.28 seconds, giving him more than a minute on the rest of the field.

In fact, Pidcock indicated that he took it easy after building a lead early in the race.

“I made a couple of mistakes after getting my gap. I’ve got big things coming up and I don’t think my teammates (on Ineos) would be too happy if I’d binned myself today,” Pidcock said.

Fluckiger, who finished second to Pidcock on the Olympic course in Tokyo, was 1:10 back in second place in a World Cup run on his home track. Luca Braidot outsprinted World Cup overall leader Nino Schurter in the mud for the bronze medal.

Pidcock has been spending more time on the mountain bike ahead of the Paris Games, where he is heavily favored to win a second consecutive gold medal. But the British multi-disciplinary star will be back on the road bike this week, preparing for the Grand Depart in the Tour de France on Saturday in Florence, Italy.

In the women’s race, Lecomte broke through with her first World Cup win of the season, giving her a big shot of momentum as she begins turning her attention to the Olympic races on July 28-29 at Elancourt Hill just outside of Paris.

Alessandra Keller of Switzerland was 46 seconds back in second place. Puck Pieterse of the Netherlands took bronze.

There is one more World Cup race before the Olympics on July 7 in Les Gets, France.