Courtney Vandersloot, a former Kentwood High School star, won the WNBA title on Sunday as the point guard for the Chicago Sky.
Vandersloot finished with 10 points,15 assists and nine rebounds as Chicago beat the Phoenix Mercury 80-74 in Game 4 of the best-of-five series for its first title.
The 5-foot-8 Vandersloot, a 2007 Kentwood graduate, played for Gonzaga University in Spokane before being drafted third overall in the 2011 WNBA draft by Chicago. At Kentwood, she led the Conquerors to a 28-1 mark her senior season and a third-place finish at state.
Allie Quigley scored 26 points and Candace Parker added 16 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to help Chicago to the home victory. Vandersloot married Quigley in 2018.
“Together, we made a commitment to this team and this franchise because we got a taste early of what it felt like to be in the finals,” said Vandersloot, referring to the 2014 matchup versus the Mercury, which the Sky lost in a three-game sweep, according to a Chicago Tribune story. “We knew if we got the right people that we could be in this moment and it would be special here.
“We didn’t want to go seeking this feeling. We wanted to do it here and we knew we had what it takes. We just needed a few more pieces.”
One of the biggest pieces turned out to be the February signing of Parker, a free agent and a two-time league MVP with the Los Angeles Sparks.
Vandersloot, 32, averaged 13 points and 10.2 assists in 10 playoff games. In the regular season, Vandersloot averaged 10.5 points and 8.6 assists, which led the league, a feat she has accomplished five consecutive seasons. She also holds the league record for most assists in a game with 18, set in 2020.
At Kentwood, Vandersloot led the state in scoring as a senior when she averaged 26.0 points, 7.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 steals per game.
Nicknamed “Sloot,” she is the daughter of Bill and Jan Vandersloot.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
