The Sky will be without Vandersloot for the rest of the game vs. the Fever after Vandersloot suffered a non-contact injury to her right knee with 5:29 left in the first quarter. Vanderloot injured her knee on a drive to the basket and collapsed holding it immediately after falling to the floor. The Sky training staff had to support her as she was escorted off the court as she wasn’t putting a lot of weight on that right knee. With Vandersloot out for the rest of the game, Chicago will have to rely upon extended minutes from combo guard Hailey Van Lith and shooting guard Rachel Banham with possibly Ariel Atkins also handling the ball in spurts.

After missing three games, Bueckers has cleared the league’s concussion protocols and is on track to play Sunday afternoon. Maddy Siegrist, who has been part of the starting lineup, is the player most impacted by Bueckers’ availability. The rookie returning would also give the Wings much-needed help from a playmaking standpoint, as DiJonai Carrington and Arike Ogunbowale have been inconsistent in that regard.

Mabrey bounced back from her eight-point showing in Connecticut’s 48-point loss to the Liberty with a new season high in points on Friday. The veteran guard had already put forth a solid first half by scoring 15 points on an efficient 6-of-10 shooting before catching fire in the third quarter en route to a 19-point half. The Sun’s two wins on the season each have come on days in which Mabrey set season-highs in points and either flirted with or passed the 30-point mark. Her scoring is vastly important for this Connecticut squad’s success, which should be music to fantasy managers’ ears. Mabrey will have a chance to outdo herself on Sunday against the Mystics.

Held has been on a tear since scoring 11 points or less in her first seven appearances this season. After scoring 16 points in Tuesday’s loss to the Lynx, she was even better against the Valkyries. Held established a new career-high point total for the second straight game, with Thursday’s effort being the first in which she’s scored at least 20 points. While starter Sami Whitcomb was able to play despite a foot injury that landed her on the initial injury report, she struggled with foul trouble and ultimately fouled out. Held’s contributions were immense as the Mercury moved to 2-1 in Commissioner’s Cup play, and she’ll look to continue this recent play when Phoenix hosts Seattle on Saturday.

With 7:57 in the first quarter, Ionescu hit her 400th three-pointer, tying her with former Liberty player Crystal Robinson for the most threes made in franchise history. Ionescu reached this in 151 games and she’s the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 400 career threes, passing Diana Taurasi’s record by seven games. Around four minutes later, Ionescu hit another three in transition on a dribble drive from Natasha Cloud and became the Liberty’s all time leader in three-point makes. While Ionescu shot inefficiently, only making one other field goal besides those two treys, she was able to focus on playmaking a bit more. She found Kennedy Burke wide open for three of her four made threes in addition to hitting Breanna Stewart more than once on the run.

Coming off being named rookie of the month for May, Iriafen continued rolling on Thursday night keeping her double-digit scoring streak alive at nine games. She scored 11 of her 17 points in the first quarter alone and took advantage of the Liberty’s lackadaisical defense. With just over four minutes left in regulation, Iriafen rebounded and then scored off her own miss that was initially blocked by Breanna Stewart. That score brought the Mystics within six points after being down as many as 16. When Stewart was asked postgame about what has made Iriafen such an impressive rookie, Stewart said that Iriafen is “under control” and isn’t sped up when she plays.

Stewart posted her first double-double of the season. After Jonquel Jones left the game with 2:23 left in the first quarter, Stewart stepped up scoring 9 points to lead the Liberty in the second quarter and go into halftime with a 49-34 lead. Stewart scored 12 more points in the second half amid shooting struggles from the Liberty. She used her veteran savvy to reach the free throw line four times in the second half. Stewart also made league history on Thursday night passing Taj McWilliams-Franklin for 12th on the All-Time defensive rebounds list with 1,952. And Stewart scored her 5,566th point to become 21st on the WNBA all-time scoring list, passing Katie Douglas.

The Mercury are among the teams hit hard by the injury bug recently, with Thomas being the most notable absentee. Thursday’s game will be the fourth she’s missed with a calf injury, and Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said Tuesday that she does not have a timeline for return. As for Mack, she has yet to appear in a game this season. Kitija Laksa will continue to start for Thomas, with Lexi Held and Haley Jones playing rotation minutes off the bench.

After missing multiple games with a nose injury, Hayes returned to the Valkyries’ starting lineup for Sunday’s game against the Lynx. Unfortunately, the veteran guard reinjured her nose during the fourth quarter and did not return. If Hayes cannot play on Thursday, Stephanie Talbot is the most likely replacement in the starting lineup. No Hayes on Thursday would also result in more playing time for Cecilila Zandalasini.