.png)
German (DE) 
English (US) 
Spanish (ES) 
French (FR) 
Hindi (IN) 
Italian (IT) 
Russian (RU) 
11 hours ago
2
As the WNBA season nears its weekend tip-off, one of the teams getting ample preseason attention is the Chicago Sky, which will get Angel Reese back for her second season in the league after she averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds as a rookie.
The Sky have been making upgrades all around, though, bringing back former franchise cornerstone Courtney Vandersloot and making a blockbuster trade for All-Star Ariel Atkins. They also moved on from coach Teresa Weatherspoon, a Hall of Fame player, replacing her with new coach Tyler Marsh, who helped win a championship as an assistant with the Aces on Becky Hammon's staff.
Marsh's focus will be on developing Reese's interior play, especially after she shot just 39.1% from the field last year. Also critical will be the play of fellow sophomore Kamila Cardoso, a raw but talented center who averaged 9.8 points and 7.9 rebounds in 32 games last year, but had a rocky start because of an injury.
Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith, left, and forward Angel Reese while at LSU.
Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
The Sky gave up their top pick in the trade for Atkins this year, but there will be a prominent rookie presence on the 2025 roster, too: TCU star Hailey Van Lith, who started her career at Louisville but really made her name as Reese's teammate at LSU for the 2023-24 season, when the duo helped fuel an NCAA championship run.
The Sky picked Van Lith with the No. 11 pick in this year's draft, and Reese told reporters that she was a staunch advocate for that move, pestering GM Jeff Pagliocca about it.
"I love Hailey, I love her family, I love her dad. You'll see her dad a lot," Reese said when asked about Van Lith. "I am superexcited for her to be in the right place. I tell players all the time, it's about fit. Her being under Sloot, like, that's the best thing that could be possible for her, too.
"I am really excited to be playing with her. I told Jeff during the process, I was like, 'If you want a dog, go get Hailey.' And I kept telling him that. You can see her grit. You can see how hard she works. She is one of the first ones to get into the gym and one of the last to leave."
The Sky will open their season on Saturday, May 17, at 3:30 p.m. ET against the Indiana Fever.
Comments