Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky got off to a strong start to the 2025 WNBA season, cruising past the Brazil women’s national basketball team 89-62 in the preseason opener.
The game was played at Pete Maravich Assembly Center (PMAC) in Baton Rouge, LA, home of the LSU Tigers. Reese spent two seasons playing for LSU under Kim Mulkey and became a fan favorite, bringing the program a national championship in 2023.
Chicago rookie Hailey Van Lith also made her return to LSU, spending the 2023-24 season with Reese and the Tigers.
In Reese’s return, the WNBA All-Star continued her success from last season, recording a double-double of 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 10 rebounds.
However, despite playing in front of the LSU crowd for the first time in over a year, Sky vs. Brazil did not fill the arena. In fact, total attendance for Friday night’s preseason contest was 6,373, less than half of the PMAC’s max capacity of 13,215.
A glimpse of the crowd can be seen in a video posted by the WNBA.
Hailey Van Lith checks into the game and the crowd erupts ✅
📺 CHI-Brazil on ION. Stream FREE on the WNBA App with League Pass Preview pic.twitter.com/MC3UTLEGTa
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 3, 2025
WNBA fans were quick to take notice of the empty seats in the arena for Reese’s return, taking to social media to leave their thoughts.
“yo it’s empty asf in there LMAOOOO,” one fan said.
“Angel Reese fans couldn’t even sell out LSU’s arena for her return… and tickets were cheap,” added another.
“Where all the LSU fans at?? Why isn’t Angel Reese homecoming game at LSU sold out??? The upper bowl is empty!!!” wrote a third.
“The stadium is damn near empty in LSU. Come on fans,” commented a fourth.
“The whole upper bowl is empty,” posted a fifth.
“No yall didn’t , we can see the empty upper bowl on tv,” responded a sixth.
Reese and the Sky will be heading back to Chicago to continue training camp before their second preseason game on Tuesday, facing the Minnesota Lynx at 7:00 p.m. ET. They will open the regular season on May 17, facing the Indiana Fever on the road.
Related: Angel Reese Reveals How She Convinced Sky to Draft Hailey Van Lith
Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky got off to a strong start to the 2025 WNBA season, cruising past the Brazil women’s national basketball team 89-62 in the preseason opener.
The game was played at Pete Maravich Assembly Center (PMAC) in Baton Rouge, LA, home of the LSU Tigers. Reese spent two seasons playing for LSU under Kim Mulkey and became a fan favorite, bringing the program a national championship in 2023.
Chicago rookie Hailey Van Lith also made her return to LSU, spending the 2023-24 season with Reese and the Tigers.
In Reese’s return, the WNBA All-Star continued her success from last season, recording a double-double of 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 10 rebounds.
However, despite playing in front of the LSU crowd for the first time in over a year, Sky vs. Brazil did not fill the arena. In fact, total attendance for Friday night’s preseason contest was 6,373, less than half of the PMAC’s max capacity of 13,215.
A glimpse of the crowd can be seen in a video posted by the WNBA.
Hailey Van Lith checks into the game and the crowd erupts ✅
📺 CHI-Brazil on ION. Stream FREE on the WNBA App with League Pass Preview pic.twitter.com/MC3UTLEGTa
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 3, 2025
WNBA fans were quick to take notice of the empty seats in the arena for Reese’s return, taking to social media to leave their thoughts.
“yo it’s empty asf in there LMAOOOO,” one fan said.
“Angel Reese fans couldn’t even sell out LSU’s arena for her return… and tickets were cheap,” added another.
“Where all the LSU fans at?? Why isn’t Angel Reese homecoming game at LSU sold out??? The upper bowl is empty!!!” wrote a third.
“The stadium is damn near empty in LSU. Come on fans,” commented a fourth.
“The whole upper bowl is empty,” posted a fifth.
“No yall didn’t , we can see the empty upper bowl on tv,” responded a sixth.
Reese and the Sky will be heading back to Chicago to continue training camp before their second preseason game on Tuesday, facing the Minnesota Lynx at 7:00 p.m. ET. They will open the regular season on May 17, facing the Indiana Fever on the road.
Related: Angel Reese Reveals How She Convinced Sky to Draft Hailey Van Lith
