Another loss to the Fever. Courtney Vandersloot’s injured. Can the Chicago Sky recover?

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CHICAGO – Hours before the Chicago Sky took the floor in the first WNBA game played at the United Center, Courtney Vandersloot reflected on what the moment would mean.

“It’s incredible for us to be able to play in an arena like this,” said Vandersloot, the Sky’s captain who is in her 13th season with the franchise.

When her name was called out last as part of the Sky’s pregame introductions, the franchise-record crowd of 19,496 gave a roaring ovation for the player who helped bring the team its only championship, along with her more than 2,000 assists and 3,700 points.

But less than five minutes into the Sky’s second of five meetings with the Indiana Fever this season, the balloon of excitement popped. Vandersloot injured her right knee on a drive to the basket midway through the first quarter. Teammates gathered around her as she lay on the floor in pain. Staffers held up towels around her to shield her. A few minutes later, she was carried into the locker room. The Sky ruled her out for the remainder of the game not even 15 minutes after she went down.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Sky rookie guard Hailey Van Lith said after Chicago’s 79-52 loss. “We’re all very concerned, and our hearts go out to Sloot right now.”

Courtney Vandersloot had to be carried off the floor after suffering an apparent leg injury after driving to the basket. pic.twitter.com/5R1acUba7P

— Ben Pickman (@benpickman) June 8, 2025

In his first season as Sky coach, Tyler Marsh has preached about not letting one side of the floor impact the other. A bad shooting night, he hoped, won’t lead to porous defense. However, it was clear once Vandersloot went down, Chicago’s offensive woes would spread to defense.

Chicago shot 32.1 percent from the field and 20 percent on 3-pointers. Indiana, meanwhile, had 20 assists on its 27 made baskets. Four players scored in double figures as the Fever’s offense was balanced, even without star guard Caitlin Clark, who missed her fourth straight game with a quad injury, on the court, and coach Stephanie White, who missed the game for personal reasons. (Clark could return for Tuesday against the Atlanta Dream.) The Fever led by 29 points after 30 minutes.

Saturday counts as just one loss for the Sky in the standings, but the implications seem far larger for a franchise looking to avoid consecutive postseason absences. The Sky (2-5) are left to ponder how they can move forward without their floor general — the player who returned from the New York Liberty in the offseason to help lead Chicago into its next chapter and help its frontcourt centerpieces, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, take the next steps in their development.

“It’s a moment when everyone needs to step up, especially with someone like Sloot going out,” veteran wing Rebecca Allen said. “That’s when we want every individual to step up and do more and give more, and I felt today we didn’t do that for her. We didn’t do that for each other.”

The Sky were already off to a shaky start. They opened with a 35-point loss to the Fever before losing their next two games by 25 and 13 points, respectively. Only the Connecticut Sun have a worse net rating than Chicago. The Sky have the league’s highest turnover percentage and allow a league-leading 18.9 transition points per game.

Marsh said pregame he had been proud of Chicago’s resiliency. The Sky had won two straight entering Saturday’s rematch, and he hoped their recent rebound would provide the necessary confidence to overcome lulls. But neither he nor his players could have predicted losing Vandersloot.

He said the Sky were still assessing the extent of Vandersloot’s injury on Saturday night and that he hadn’t talked with her. He said he hoped that “it’s not as serious as we may think it is.”

If Vandersloot were to miss significant time — as Marsh and others’ answers about her injury indicated — Van Lith would immediately have more plopped onto her plate.

The No. 11 pick in April’s WNBA Draft, Van Lith had appeared in only four of Chicago’s first six games, playing a total of 37 minutes, and recording 10 points and seven assists. She set career-highs in minutes (26) and points (seven) against the Fever, entering the game earlier than she had before. But even with Van Lith showing glimpses of what made her a college star at LSU and TCU, the Sky’s offense still looked amiss without its best conductor. Allen said Chicago got “out-toughed” and “didn’t punch back.”

Vandersloot’s absence will also impact Reese, a forward who entered this season looking to build on her debut All-Star rookie campaign.

Though she has remained one of the league’s best rebounders, Reese’s scoring average and field goal percentage have both dipped this season. She’s shooting only 27.3 percent from the field on post-ups, according to SynergySports, and 33.3 percent when rolling off screens. She scored only four points on 2-of-7 shooting on Saturday against the Fever.

Marsh will now be tasked with trying to get Reese easy scoring opportunities, which becomes more difficult without Vandersloot.

Ariel Atkins, a two-time All-Star who was another high-profile offseason acquisition for Chicago, likely will take on more primary ballhandling duties. Cardoso, like Reese, will need to be more forceful inside, as she’s still looking for her first double-double of the season.

“We all got to step up and be better,” Marsh said. “This is a setback today, but we gotta continue to move forward.”

That won’t be easy.

On Tuesday, the Sky will face the defending champion New York Liberty, who are not only off to their best start in franchise history (8-0), but also lead the league in net rating. New York is 39.4 points better than the Sky per 100 possessions.

Van Lith received the final inbounds pass of Saturday’s blowout loss, eventually passing the ball back to an official as fans began to file out. Within seconds, Marsh and the rest of his players filed off the court, too.

There was no need to linger, though the effect of what happened Saturday likely will.

(Photo of Courtney Vandersloot: Daniel Bartel / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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