Gonzaga women’s basketball honors former Kentwood star Vandersloot

Former Kentwood Excessive College basketball star Courtney Vandersloot is retiring her No. 21 jersey at Gonzaga College and frolicked on the McCarthy Sports activities Middle in Spokane throughout a ceremony earlier than the Feb. 11 sport.

Vandersloot will turn out to be the primary participant in program historical past to show her jersey, in accordance with the Gonzaga ladies’s basketball web site. She will likely be current on the pre-game social gathering towards Portland.

The 5-foot-8 Vandersloot, a 2007 Kentwood graduate, performed for Gonzaga earlier than being drafted third general within the 2011 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky. She turned the primary Gonzaga participant at school historical past taken within the first spherical. At Kentwood, she led the Conquistadors to a 28-1 mark her senior season and a third-place end within the state.

At Gonzaga, Vandersloot, a three-time West Coast Convention Participant of the Yr, was named to the Related Press All-America second group and State Farm Coaches’ USBWA All-America basketball All-America group, named to Nancy Lieberman Awarded as the most effective guard within the nation, he was the winner of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award.

She capped her Gonzaga profession by main the Zags to the NCAA Event Elite Eight, West Coast Convention Event and common season titles and a 31-5 report in 2010-11.

Vandersloot led the nation in assists per sport in 2009-10 and 2010-11. She broke the NCAA single-season report with 367 in her first season. She can also be the primary NCAA Division I participant, male or feminine, to build up 2,000 whole factors and 1,000 assists.

In response to Gonzaga’s web site, in her WNBA rookie season, Vandersloot had turn out to be Sky’s common starter at this level, ultimately beginning 26 of the group’s 34 video games. Her common of three.7 assists per sport was eleventh within the league and second amongst juniors. She was additionally named as a reserve for the Jap Conferences within the 2011 WNBA All-Star Sport, was one of many 5 members of the 2011 All-Rookie Workforce, receiving 10 out of a attainable 11 votes from the league’s coaches.

In 2015, Vandersloot averaged a career-high 5.8 assists per sport through the common season for the Sky, earlier than hanging out 8.3 per outing within the playoffs. The Kent native added a career-best 13.7 factors per sport through the 2015 common season. She helped information Chicago to its first playoff look in 2013, earlier than reaching the WNBA Finals in 2014.

In the course of the 2020 season, she was the primary participant in WNBA historical past to common a double-digit assists season and led the WNBA with 10 assists per sport. She additionally set the WNBA single-game report for many assists in a sport with 18 and recorded a double-double in 9 of her 22 video games.

Within the 2021 season, she helped lead the Sky to their first WNBA Championship. Within the first spherical of the playoffs, Vandersloot scored the WNBA’s second triple-double in matchup historical past towards the Connecticut Solar. Her record-breaking triple double included 18 assists, a private greatest 10 rebounds and 12 factors.

Within the Finals, Vandersloot led the group in minutes performed with 133 and averaged 11.5 factors per sport. Within the 4 video games, she recorded 50 assists, one other group report. Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury 3-1 within the finals to assert the title.

Free agent this 12 months

Vandersloot, 33, performed 12 seasons with Chicago however is a free agent this 12 months and will signal elsewhere, with the Seattle Storm as a chance.

In response to espn.com, Vandersloot has met up with Sky, Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty and Seattle Storm.

Media experiences additionally indicated that Vandersloot had signed with the identical group as Brianna Stewart, the Storm star who has reportedly narrowed her choices to Seattle and New York Liberty. Stewart and Vandersloot have the identical dealership.