Angel Reese
Image credit - Flickr/John McClellan
Team USA did not look like the best team in the world against Italy. Kara Lawson made sure everyone knew she noticed.
The Americans escaped with a shaky 55-52 win over Italy on Sunday, shooting just 28.6% from the field and going 1-for-12 from three. Afterward, Lawson delivered a pointed message to her locker room.
Angel Reese heard her coach loud and clear. Two days later, she made sure everyone knew it.
“Let that be the last time that we didn’t play to where we are, the USA standard,” Reese said, relaying Lawson’s message after Monday’s 105-64 rout of Czechia. “*And I think tonight we came out and definitely took that personal.*”
| Angel Reese’s full media availability after yesterday’s game against Czechia.
[via BallinEurope yt] https://t.co/z16OYYf29H
— angel reese source (@ar5source) September 8, 2026
The response spoke for itself. Reese came off the bench for 13 points, six rebounds and three steals, closing the group stage on a high note after a scrappy showing against Italy. The Atlanta Dream star finished pool play averaging 6.5 points and six rebounds in limited minutes, playing a support role behind a veteran-heavy starting five.
That role has not stopped Lawson from noticing what Reese brings. After the Italy game, the head coach singled her out for praise despite the team’s overall struggles.
“When she gets in the game, she impacts,” Lawson said. “*She comes into the game, and she plays with great energy, and she competes. She scores, she rebounds, she plays with great pace.*”
Reese has leaned into that impact role since arriving in Berlin, working the glass and playing defense rather than chasing touches. It is a different look than her usual WNBA workload, where she is the focal point every night for Atlanta. On this roster, surrounded by Breanna Stewart and a deep veteran core, she has adjusted without complaint.
Part of that adjustment has come from sharing the floor with Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, a trio that entered the tournament carrying more baggage than chemistry. Their college rivalries and split fan bases made for an odd fit on paper. On the court, it has worked out differently, with Reese crashing the glass and firing outlets ahead to Clark in transition.
That connection showed up again against Czechia, where the reserve unit helped bury the game early and let Lawson rest her starters for long stretches. Reese credited the group’s chemistry for the turnaround, pointing to simple habits rather than anything complicated.
“Just playing together, playing USA basketball,” Reese said, describing how the team found its rhythm again. “*Making sure we push the pace and play to our advantages.*”
Angel Reese Knows The Margin For Error Is Gone
The group stage sweep sets up a win-or-go-home quarterfinal against Hungary on Thursday, and Reese was direct about what that means. There is no more room for the kind of sluggish effort that nearly cost Team USA against Italy.
“There’s no more time to work on anything,” Reese said. “*I think we have to be good or we go home. That’s the standard. We want to win.*”
That urgency matches how Lawson has run this tournament. She has stuck with her veteran-first rotation through three games, resisting outside pressure to start Reese, Clark or Bueckers over the established core. Asked directly about promoting any of the three, Lawson gave the same short answer each time: she likes where the group is right now.
The bench unit built around that trio has produced results anyway, and Reese’s response to Lawson’s challenge only strengthens the case that the group is buying in regardless of who tips off. Whether that earns any of them a starting nod in Berlin remains an open question, but the numbers make it harder for Lawson to ignore.