The New York Liberty held a moment of silence before Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks in memory of Courtney Vandersloot’s mother Jan, who passed away after a battle with cancer

The New York Liberty held a moment of silence ahead of Thursday’s WNBA game for Courtney Vandersloot’s mother Jan, who passed away over the weekend following a two-year battle with cancer.

Before tipoff, the Barclays Center Jumbotron displayed pictures of Courtney and her mom alongside the message: “In loving memory of Jan Vandersloot.” A one minute moment of silence was taken before play kicked off between the Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks.

Thursday’s contest marked the sixth consecutive game that Vandersloot had missed due to “personal reasons.” Prior to her mother’s passing, Liberty teammates offered the veteran guard their support.

“We’re playing for her. She’s a part of this team. She anchors us,” fellow guard Sabrina Ionescu said following the Liberty’s 93-88 win over the Washington Mystics earlier this month. “We’re not the same without her.

“I hope she knows, I know she knows and feels that, every time we’re stepping out on the floor, everything that we’re doing, she’s right there with us. We know she has that fire and we don’t want to let her down. So we were doing all that for her.”

Head coach Sandy Brondello expressed a similar sentiment, adding: “We’re all in this together. She’s a valuable teammate and we love her and support her. We look forward to when she’s coming but for right now she’s in our thoughts and prayers.”

Courtney Vandersloot has missed the last six games due to 'personal reasons'

Courtney Vandersloot has missed the last six games due to ‘personal reasons’ ( 
Image:
Melissa Tamez/ Icon Sportswire)
Back in July 2022, Jan was diagnosed with advanced multiple myeloma, which currently does not have a cure. Vandersloot learned of the news shortly after she and the Chicago Sky lost to the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final.

“I found out at the end of July, that’s when the diagnosis came through and you know it was obviously completely out of the blue,” Vandersloot told the Associated Press last year. “I was shocked. There was every emotion you can imagine and just the unknown. I’ve been fortunate with the people around me, I’ve never experienced something like this.”

The news was a tough pill to swallow for Vandersloot, who finished out the remainder of the regular season with the Sky before rushing to Jan’s bedside in Washington. With her looming departure from Chicago on the horizon, she began mulling over her WNBA options over the offseason.

Though the Liberty stood out as a viable landing spot, Vandersloot was hesitant to sign with the team. Playing in New York would mean she’d be halfway across the country from Jan.

“I can’t move to New York. Are you kidding me?” Vandersloot recalled thinking at the time. “My mom is my biggest fan. She’s the biggest basketball junkie. She loves it. She understood what the opportunity was that was being placed in front of me. She wants this for me. To have her blessing, she understood.”

Vandersloot ended up signing with the Liberty in February 2023. Six months later, she was awarded the August WNBA Cares Community Assist Award for her work to raise awareness for multiple myeloma.