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Alexa Philippou
WNBA nice Courtney Vandersloot will miss the rest of the 2025 season after tearing her proper ACL on Saturday, the Chicago Sky introduced Sunday.
The purpose guard went down with the damage whereas driving to the basket early within the Sky’s loss to the Indiana Fever and needed to be carried off the ground. The crew stated that she underwent an MRI that exposed the tear, and that she’s going to bear surgical procedure to restore it.
Vandersloot was in her first season again with the Sky, the group that drafted her in 2011 and with which she gained a WNBA title in 2021. She returned to the town this offseason following a two-year stint with the New York Liberty, the place she was a part of the 2024 title-winning squad.
The five-time All-Star and five-time all-WNBA choice has been a dependable power on the ground all through her profession. The one time she missed greater than seven video games in a season was in 2014, when she sprained an MCL however nonetheless appeared in 17 contests.
Vandersloot is the Sky’s all-time scoring chief, a file she snagged from her spouse, Allie Quigley, final month, and is the league’s energetic profession assists chief with 2,886. She was averaging 10.6 factors and 5.3 assists for Chicago (2-5) this season, however most significantly, was tasked with bringing veteran management to a crew constructing round younger put up gamers Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.
“She’s our engine,” Chicago coach Tyler Marsh stated Saturday earlier than the extent of Vandersloot’s damage was identified. “She’s our captain and our chief on the market, so clearly, it is an enormous blow. However hopefully, it isn’t as critical as we might imagine. We’re hoping she is ready to bounce again, however in the interim, all of us obtained to choose her up. All of us obtained to raise her up; all of us obtained to raise one another up.”
The lack of Vandersloot doubtless means 2025 first-round draft decide Hailey Van Lith might be requested to tackle extra duty. The Sky even have level guard Moriah Jefferson on the roster, however she has but to make her regular-season debut due to damage.
“It is heartbreaking to look at anyone [get hurt], however particularly one among your teammates and somebody which means as a lot as Sloot does to our crew and this group,” Van Lith stated Saturday. “Proper now, we’re giving her quite a lot of power, praying for her. No matter is in retailer sooner or later for this crew, I belief that we are going to discover a solution to make this second imply one thing in the long run. We’re very involved, and our hearts exit to Sloot.”