Hailey Van Lith found out she’s going to have a steep learning curve following her first WNBA preseason game for the Chicago Sky on Tuesday night. She scored three points, added five assists, and one rebound in the Sky’s 74-69 win over the Minnesota Lynx in front of 4,688 fans at Wintrust Arena.
Van Lith, the No. 11 pick in the 2025 draft, came off the bench for Chicago. While her assists helped the Sky earn the win, her best stuff came against Minnesota’s bench.
Hailey Van Lith had some growing pains on Tuesday night
Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune had serious criticism for the former LSU and TCU standout, calling her 17 minutes on Tuesday night a “welcome to the league” game for Van Lith.
“The challenge came from two elite guards — Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, a pair of dogged defenders who smothered Van Lith on the perimeter, Poe wrote. “The Sky rookie struggled to cleanly connect her screens with the ball in her hands and couldn’t get her typical separation when cutting off the ball.
“The result was a muted scoring performance from Van Lith — she missed her only shot in the three quarters with Hiedeman and Williams on the court — but the guard managed three assists with zero turnovers in that stretch.”
Poe noted that Van Lith has “work to do” before she’s ready to play against starting guards in the WNBA. That issue isn’t necessarily a big problem for the talented rookie, as she’s expected to learn behind Courtney Vandersloot in 2025.
The Chicago Sky will adjust Van Lith’s style
Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said the team would use Tuesday night as an opportunity to make “adjustments” for Van Lith going forward.
“It’s tough,” coach Tyler Marsh said. “It’s a first real look at W action, and those are certified WNBA guards. That’s the kind of pressure that she’s going to feel night in, night out. So it’s good to get her used to that tonight and we’ll make our adjustments. There’s nothing like true hands-on experience, and I’m sure she’ll learn from the minutes that she got today.”
Van Lith had a better outing Friday night against the Brazilian national team. She recorded seven points, five assists, and three rebounds in Chicago’s 89-62 win on Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Van Lith has one more tune-up game before the Sky’s regular season opener against the Indiana Fever on May 17. Chicago will play the Lynx on Saturday. Hopefully, the adjustment will have Van Lith playing efficiently.
© Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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