Sky Rookie Forward Proving Her Worth
The Chicago Sky ended their 2025 WNBA regular season falling short of their goal to make the playoffs for a second year in a row. After five straight years of making the postseason, the 2021 WNBA champions are in a bit of a drought.
Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso returned for their sophomore seasons in the league. The Sky signed Ariel Atkins, in addition to bringing back veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot, as well. The news that former Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Tyler Marsh would take over the team provided reason to be optimistic.
oh you showed OUTTTTTTT ROOK👑
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) September 12, 2025
A CAREER HIGH NIGHT FOR MADDY
Presented by @MagellanCorp | #skytown pic.twitter.com/iswSqLmRvI
For the 14th time this season, the Sky played without their two-time WNBA All-Star forward and saw a familiar result. Chicago lost for the 13th time with Reese sitting out. However, the 91-86 loss to the defending WNBA champions, the New York Liberty, offers some positives.
One of the best takeaways from the season finale at Wintrust Arena was having rookie Maddy Westbeld go off for a career-high 25 points. The Sky forward also recorded seven rebounds and three assists. Thus making the case that she is an asset to Chicago going forward.
Maddy Westbeld could be the Chicago Sky's best bench player in 2026.
The 22-year-old's previous game happened last month against the Indiana Fever. Westbeld scored 10 points in the 92-70 loss away from Wintrust Arena. At that time, it was the first time that she tallied double digits in any game.
One of the Sky's biggest issues this season was ball control. Chicago had the highest turnovers per game average (15.5) in the league. The next closest team, the Washington Mystics, was 1.3 better in that category.
In both games this year that Westbeld scored at least 10 points, she made committed zero turnovers. After a streak of three games in a row at the end of July, the former Notre Dame Fighting Irish player turned the ball over twice in each of those contests. Since then, Westbeld had just five turnovers in her last 12 games.
Furthermore, in both games when Westbeld scored 10 points or more, she made multiple three-point shots, making 50% or more from deep. The Sky struggled with their long ball in recent games before Thursday night's game. However, Westbeld came up big against the Liberty making five of her six shots from behind the arc.
Chicago's rookie forward showed some versatility in her game. Westbeld showed she can get to the free-throw line. In the Sky's final two games, she made all four of her free throws in both contests.
Westbeld is one of four players on the Sky's roster that is under contract in 2026 and beyond. Reese, Cardoso and fellow rookie Hailey Van Lith are the only athletes for Chicago that are not free agents this off-season. Having Westbeld for the next couple seasons could bode well for their hopes of returning to the WNBA Playoffs.
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My name is Scott Conrad and I am a Contributor for the Chicago Sky with Sports Illustrated.com. I am also a Contributor with FanSided on NinerNoise, as well as Da Windy City. In addition, I am the Site Editor/Expert for The View from Avalon. I spent two seasons (2015 & 2016) with the Tampa Bay Times as a Correspondent covering high school football. I am a two-time published author with more work to come. In my teenage years, I started watching both MLS and WNBA start in 1996 and grow to be the juggernauts they are in their respective sports. Much love to the career on and off the court for fellow-Napervillian and former Sky forward Candace Parker. Outside of the sports journalism world, I am a travel volleyball coach. I accepted the Head Coach position with Greater Cincinnati Volleyball Club for their U13-2 team. In terms of active sports, I play volleyball, soccer, softball, kickball and train in mixed martial arts.