Some stories in sports go far beyond the box score. They hit deeper. They remind us that even the strongest athletes carry battles that never make the highlight reel. Sometimes, it’s not about championship rings but about love, loss, and finding purpose through the pain. One WNBA veteran knows it all too well. Faced the most gut-wrenching moment, fought through it, returned like a fighter, and won that title. Now, she’s sharing a part of her heart with everyone – with a message that stopped the scrolls.

If you remember, Jan Vandersloot, Courtney’s mom, passed away last year after a tough two-year battle with cancer. She was diagnosed with advanced multiple myeloma in July 2022. And during a Liberty vs Sparks game in October, an emotional tribute was held. The Liberty crowd of 10,955 erupted in a loud, unified chant of “SLOOT! SLOOT!”

“I think it’s just goes to show that we’re a family,” Jonquel Jones had said at the time. “And as much as we love basketball and we understand that it’s a business and it’s our jobs and everything, it kind of makes you put things into perspective and understand that there’s a lot of other things going on in life.”

Sloot gave the green light for the video tribute, which featured her and her mom, and well, emotions ran high that night. Now, nearly a year later, she’s once again standing tall, this time, not for a win, but for a cause. She’s all in as the WNBA doubles down on supporting the very fight that claimed her mom.

After the Chicago Sky finally snapped their losing streak and locked in their first win of the season, Vandersloot was hit with a heartfelt question. A reporter asked, “What does it mean to you to have an organization and a league that pays such close attention to issues like the Kay Yow fund and all the stuff around that?”

Her answer came straight from the heart. She said, “I mean it’s huge and obviously it’s very dear to my heart you know I just had lost my mom to cancer,” she said. “So for this you know the league especially the team to kind of pour into that…whether it’s awareness or fundraising it’s a big deal. She went on to speak about the broader purpose behind it all, “We can impact a lot of people, and I think that’s the biggest job that we should have as professional athletes with our um platform is just being able to impact and touch people’s lives.”

In case this is new to you, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund is a nonprofit that supports innovative ways to fight all cancers affecting women.  They’re about strength, courage, hope and now, they’re teaming up with the Chicago Sky and Equal Hope to expand access to life-saving cancer education, screening, and support for underserved women in Chicago. This whole movement took center stage on Thursday, May 29, when the Sky hosted their Women’s Cancer Awareness Game at Wintrust Arena, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. 

The night was way more than just basketball. For the first time ever, the Sky’s awareness game was an official Play4Kay event. If you didn’t know, that’s a national movement honoring Coach Kay Yow’s legacy. She believed in sport’s power to unite and Play4Kay brings together players, coaches, refs, fans, and whole communities in the fight against women’s cancers.

Even better, thanks to a grant from the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, all proceeds from the game will be matched, making every dollar raised go twice as far. The money goes to Equal Hope, a Chicago-based nonprofit doing the hard work to close health gaps and make sure all women get the cancer care they need. We appreciate the W’s effort to keep showing up for causes that matter. 

And while the Sky did the most empowering thing off the court…on it, Sloot did what she does best. She made history.

Courtney Vandersloot passed her wife in the record books

The Sky picked up a big 97-92 win over Dallas, and Courtney Vandersloot etched her name into the Chicago Sky history books and did it by passing her wife. With just nine points needed to become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Vandersloot dropped 13 on the night, surpassing none other than Allie Quigley, her longtime teammate and spouse. 

And you know, Quigley and Vandersloot met while playing for the Sky, and they’ve been married since 2018. So when Vandersloot passed Quigley’s 3723-point record, it wasn’t just a history-making moment, it was a family affair. Pregame, Vandersloot had some fun with it all, telling the WNBA, “I’m happy it’s my wife, but it’s my turn now.” 

And in typical supportive partner fashion, Quigley gave her blessing, “She said that if it had to be somebody, she’s happy it’s me,” Sloot shared. Vandersloot is now in her 13th WNBA season, 12 of those with the Sky before her brief stint with the New York Liberty in 2023, where she won a championship. 

She’s back in Chicago this season, leading the young Sky squad and adding more records to her resume. She’s already topping the franchise charts in points, games played, assists, and steals. But Quigley’s still holding tight to at least one title, her 504 career three-pointers are safe for now. 

Vandersloot currently sits at 329 in that department, so it might be a while before she rewrites that chapter. Still, no matter who’s ahead on the stat sheet, one thing’s for sure: this duo will always be number one to each other.