The celebration at the United Center lasted only 5 minutes, 31 seconds Saturday night.
For those first fleeting minutes, the Chicago Sky delivered on the hopes of the franchise-record crowd of 19,496 in the first WNBA game at the history venue. The Indiana Fever took an immediate lead, but the Sky traded blows with back-to-back baskets from Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese to keep within three points.
Then guard Courtney Vandersloot drove up the court after a Fever turnover, lunged toward the basket with the ball in her hands and crashed directly into Aari McDonald. Before she even finished her shot, Vandersloot crumpled to the ground. The 36-year-old veteran grabbed her right knee and remained down on the court, ushering in clear panic for the Sky.
Vandersloot eventually was carried to the Sky locker room by two medical staffers. Within minutes, her wife and former Sky captain, Allie Quigley, was escorted by security to the Sky locker room, where the medical team assessed the guard’s injury. Sky owner Michael Alter followed shortly thereafter. Vandersloot was ruled out for the rest of the game at the end of the first quarter.
Immediately after the game, coach Tyler Marsh said he had not spoken with Vandersloot, who was still being evaluated. Marsh did not comment on whether the Sky were concerned about an ACL injury and declined to comment on whether the team anticipates a long-term injury.
“It’s heartbreaking,” rookie Hailey Van Lith said. “It’s heartbreaking to watch anybody (get injured), but especially one of your teammates and someone that means as much as Sloot does to our organization. Right now we’re giving her a lot of energy, praying for her. Whatever is in store for this team, I trust that we will find a way to make this moment mean something in the end.”
From the moment Vandersloot was carried off the floor, the game spiraled out of control for the Sky, who suffered a 79-52 loss.
Vandersloot’s injury immediately thrust Van Lith into an unexpected spotlight. The Sky always planned for Van Lith to become the natural successor at point guard to Vandersloot when they drafted the rookie with the 11th pick out of TCU this spring. But that ascension was supposed to be a patient process to allow Van Lith — who played two-guard for most of her collegiate career — ample time to adjust to the rigors of running the point in the WNBA.
On Saturday, all of those plans evaporated. Van Lith was forced to shoulder point guard duties, logging three turnovers and zero assists while scoring only seven points. And the rookie was a step slow on the defensive end of the court, giving too much space to Fever star Kelsey Mitchell, who finished with a game-high 17 points.
It wasn’t just the loss of Vandersloot’s facilitation. With their floor general out, the Sky lost sight of their identity on both ends of the court. They logged 11 assists against 21 turnovers. After spending the first six games of the season emphasizing the importance of their 3-point offense, the Sky took only 15 attempts from behind the arc and made just three (20%).
And the defense provided minimal pressure on the Fever (4-4), who shot 45.8% (27-for-59) from the floor even after rotating in bench players for the majority of the fourth quarter. And they played without star Caitlin Clark, who missed her fourth straight game with a left quadriceps strain.
Photos: Chicago Sky lose to Indiana Fever 79-52 at the United Center
Reese managed only four points on 2-for-7 shooting. Ariel Atkins went 2-for-11 from the floor. Rebecca Allen and Kamilla Cardoso led the hosts with eight points apiece. Allen (3-for-6) was the only Sky player to make more than two baskets.
“It’s a moment where everyone needs to step up, especially with someone like Sloot going out,” Allen said. “That’s where we want every individual to step up and do more and give more. I felt today we didn’t do that for her.”
The loss — which narrowly avoided the lowest-scoring effort in franchise history — left the Sky (2-5) with more questions than answers. There isn’t a clear path forward for the point guard position without Vandersloot, the franchise scoring leader. Nor is there a substantial sign that the Sky can compete against the upper half of the WNBA.
For Marsh, a first-year coach, time is now essential to create solutions for his team.
“(Vandersloot) is our engine, she’s our captain, she’s our leader out there,” Marsh said. “Obviously it’s a huge blow. Hopefully it’s not as serious as we may think. We’re hoping that she is able to bounce back, but for the time being we all got to pick her up, lift her up, lift each other up.”