Courtney Vandersloot out for season with torn ACL in Sky injury crusher

The Chicago Sky took a major hit this weekend.Franchise legend and starting point guard Courtney Vandersloot went down with a knee injury in Chicago’s 79-52 loss Saturday to the Fever and immediately looked to be in immense pain.The team then announced Sunday that she suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season.The game was set to be a big one with the Sky hosting the Caitlin Clark-led Fever in the United Center — home of the Chicago Bulls. But Clark has been dealing with an injury and remained out, and Vandersloot’s injury put an even larger damper on Chicago’s blowout loss in what should have been an exciting matchup.The Sky have struggled mightily this season, sitting at 2-5 with the third-worst record in the league.Now, Chicago must figure out a way to stay afloat without its leader — who’s averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 assists this season.“She’s our engine, she’s our captain and our leader out there,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said following the injury.“Obviously it’s a huge blow … We’re hoping that she’s able to bounce back.

For the time being we all gotta pick her up, we all gotta lift her up, we all gotta lift each other up.”Vandersloot is a 15-year WNBA veteran.She spent the first 12 years of her career with the Sky and then joined the New York Liberty for the last two seasons before heading back to Chicago.The 36-year-old holds Sky franchise records with 364 games played, 3,743 points, 2,424 assists and 468 steals.The five-time All Star and five-time All-WNBA honoree won championships in 2021 with the Sky and last season with the Liberty.The Sky are in the midst of a rebuild, led by 28-year old Ariel Atkins and youngsters Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. Without Vandersloot, No.

11 overall pick in the 2025 draft Hailey Van Lith took over as the starting point guard in the second half of Saturday’s game and could hold the role moving forward....