Backcourt Mates

Sky point guards Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley—who were wed last December—have learned how to navigate the peaks and pitfalls of their itinerant careers while pushing each other to become better players.

- Joan Niesen

TWO WEEKS before her wedding, the bride jammed her ring finger. In what would end as an 82–68 victory for her Russian team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, point guard Courtney Vandersloot lunged for a rebound, and the basketball caught the tip of her digit. The knuckle swelled instantly.

From a few feet away, Familia Schio’s playmaker winced. Allie Quigley, the star of the Italian squad, had a vested interest in that hand. Foes that day in central Russia, Quigley and Vandersloot returned to being fiancées at the buzzer—at which point they each had one more game to avoid their worst shared fear: a prenuptial black eye.

Fortunately for the point guards, no opponent’s elbow left a mark. Vandersloot’s ring finger, however, remained so swollen that she was forced to wear her bling on her right hand. And on Dec. 28, the Vanderquigs, as they playfully call themselves, were married before 100 guests in Vandersloot’s hometown of Seattle. After keeping their relationship out of the spotlight for more than five years, Vandersloot posted a photo on Instagram of herself and her wife in their sleeveless lace gowns, holding hands in front of Puget Sound. As the well-wishes continued to pour in, they had a mere three days together before heading back to join their teams in Europe. Their honeymoon would have to wait until . . . well, they’re still not quite sure when.

THE STORY of how WNBA teammates decided to get married begins, of course, with hoops.