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Chicago Sky Coach Makes Hailey Van Lith Statement After Indiana Fever Benching
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Chicago Sky are clearly going through growing pains early in the tenure of head coach Tyler Marsh. Angel Reese still performed well against the Indiana Fever on opening night, recording 12 points and 17 rebounds.

However, she was the only highlight for the Sky in a blowout loss. Fans have been calling for rookie guard Hailey Van Lith to play more, as she put together several strong games in the preseason.

She also performed well in limited playing time during her WNBA debut against the Fever. Van Lith contributed four points in four minutes at the end of the contest.

The Sky will play their second game of the season on Thursday against the New York Liberty, which will be another tough matchup for Chicago.

Coach Marsh, however, seemingly has no plans to integrate the rookie guard into the lineup any further. He spoke with the media ahead of the Liberty game and had a non-committal response to whether Van Lith would see extra playing time in the home opener.

"We'll see that as the game comes," Marsh said. "We've loved what Hailey's progress has been over the course of the three weeks that we've been together. She's continued to be a sponge and to learn from our staff and from Courtney (Vandersloot). So, we're looking forward to big things for her."

This may not be the kind of response that Sky fans are looking for, but it is important that Van Lith remains in Coach Marsh's good graces. She appears to be doing that early in her career, and it is only a matter of time before she makes an impact on the court.

Veteran guards like Courtney Vandersloot, Ariel Atkins and Kia Nurse all underperformed in the team's 93 to 58 loss against the Fever. If things continue to trend in that direction for the Sky, then Marsh will have no choice but to utilize Van Lith and her talents.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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