Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky misplaced Saturday’s sport towards the Indiana Fever, 79-52. However their loss towards a Caitlin Clark-less Indiana staff wasn’t the worst factor that occurred that night time. Midway by means of the sport, veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot left the ground with an damage. On Sunday, MRIs confirmed that Vandersloot has torn her ACL and can miss the rest of the season.
An ACL tear is horrible information for any athlete, and struggling one at Vandersloot’s age (36) is even worse. She had been strong for the Sky, averaging 10.6 factors, 5.3 assists and three.1 rebounds, whereas taking pictures 43.9%. Courtney Vandersloot was not at all Chicago’s finest participant, however her playmaking and tenacity on protection can be sorely missed.
Chicago’s begin to this season has been lower than ideally suited, because the staff misplaced 5 out of its first seven video games. With Vandersloot on the sidelines, issues may shortly go from dangerous to worse. Nonetheless, there are many high quality free brokers available on the market that might assist the staff enhance.
Let’s check out three gamers that Angel Reese’s Sky can goal following Courtney Vandersloot’s ACL tear.
3 gamers Angel Reese’s Sky can goal after Courtney Vandersloot’s damage
1) Chennedy Carter
Chennedy Carter is coming off a stellar season with the Chicago Sky in 2024. Nonetheless, she was surprisingly not prolonged for one more 12 months. In 2024, Carter made 33 appearances for Chicago, averaging 17.5 factors, 3.5 rebounds and three.1 assists per sport.
She is a flexible scorer and a strong playmaker who may simply step into Courtney Vandersloot’s footwear. Nonetheless, her off-court points may make her an unattractive choice for the Sky. Certainly, the staff already offers with sufficient animosity as a result of followers who goal Angel Reese.
2) Haley Jones
The Atlanta Dream chosen Haley Jones with the sixth total choose within the 2023 WNBA draft. Sadly, Jones didn’t make an affect within the league, averaging 3.7 factors and a couple of.3 rebounds for her profession. A far cry from her senior 12 months in faculty, when she recorded 13.5 factors, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per sport.
Jones has the abilities required to facilitate for Chicago’s gamers and can be a tenacious defender, making her a strong backup guard. Nonetheless, she has largely didn’t show herself within the league and may not get one other probability to take action.
3) Aari McDonald
Aari McDonald signed a hardship contract with the Indiana Fever after they misplaced Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson to accidents. She stepped into the staff as one in every of their solely guards and has held her personal, recording 9.5 factors, 3.5 assists and three.0 steals.
Thus far, she has been stellar on protection and has executed nicely to raise her teammates. With Clark and Cunningham’s return on the horizon, McDonald will possible be a free agent quickly. It might be in Angel Reese and Co.’s finest pursuits to watch her state of affairs carefully.
Edited by Nadim El Kak