NEW YORK CITY (WGN) — The Chicago Sky were the top rebounding team in the WNBA last year, but their perimeter shooting set them back. On Monday night, they helped address the need through their top two picks in the WNBA draft.
The Sky averaged a league-leading 36.6 rebounds per game last season, but finished 13-27 after a 2-12 stretch to end the year, which led the franchise to replace head coach Teresa Weatherspoon with Tyler Marsh and revamp the roster with additions like Ariel Atkins, Rebecca Allen, Kia Nurse and Courtney Vandersloot.
Chicago owned back-to-back picks in the first round, selecting Slovenian stretch four Ajsa Sivka with pick No. 10, and TCU point guard Hailey Van Lith with the eleventh pick.
According to ESPN’s Charlie Creme, Sivka possesses good size at 6-foot-4 and deep shooting range, which helps her compare favorably to Leonie Fiebich. Creme said Sivka’s stock has soared since winning the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship MVP in 2023 and getting a spot on the Slovenia national team at age 15.
At the 2023 FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship, Sivka won a gold medal in addition to her MVP performance where she averaged 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game.
Sivka averaged 11 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 42.2% from three during the 2024-25 EuroCup for Tarbes.
Van Lith comes to Chicago as one of women’s college basketball’s most decorated and well-traveled players in recent history. The Wenatchee, Washington-native was named 2024-25 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and was voted third-team All-America by the Associated Press during her final college season at TCU.
Prior to her time as a Horned Frog, Van Lith spent a year at LSU with her now-reunited teammate Angel Reese, and three years at Louisville.
Van Lith averaged 15.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals across a NCAA DI record 172 games played between TCU, LSU and Louisville.
According to Creme, the move to TCU couldn’t have helped Van Lith’s stock more. She showcased point guard skills she hadn’t previously displayed at Louisville or LSU. Van Lith’s 3×3 Olympic experience also went a long way to making her pro-ready, especially running the pick-and-roll and finishing at the rim.
2nd Round Picks
Round 2, Pick 16: Maddy Westbeld – PF/Notre Dame
Westbeld spent all five years in South Bend playing for a talent-laden Notre Dame squad.
A left foot injury cost her the first 13 games of her fifth year and preceded a down year overall, but the 6-foot-3-inch forward averaged 12.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game on 46.4% shooting from the field and 35.6% shooting from three over her first four seasons for the Fighting Irish.
Westbeld profiles as a well-rounded stretch four who can shoot from the outside and play solid defense if she can stay healthy.
Round 2, Pick 22: Aicha Coulibaly – SG/Texas A&M
Coulibaly is a fifth-year senior two-guard who spent her first three college basketball seasons at Auburn before transferring to Texas A&M ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The former Aggies guard averaged 12.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals a game last year in College Station. At 6-foot tall, she profiles as a fluid athlete who excels at both attacking the basket in transition and going off the dribble in the half-court, using her handle and an array of step-throughs and pump fakes to get around defenders and create scoring angles to finish at the rim.
