\u201cWe needed her to be [a scorer] and she\u2019s really taken that to heart,\u201d Vandersloot told the Sun-Times. \u201cLike \u2018We\u2019re gonna give it to you on the block and you gotta find a way to score.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n
So what accounts for Cardoso\u2019s big step forward this season?<\/p>\n
Marsh said last month, half jokingly and half seriously, that she might simply be tired of not getting her due.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s some evidence for the snub-fueled theory. She missed out on an All-Star selection despite being the home city\u2019s best bet. And when ESPN ranked its top 50 WNBA players, Cardoso barely made the list at No. 40, behind players like Liberty guard Pauline Astier and Valkyries center Janelle Sala\u00fcn.<\/p>\n
Proving the doubters wrong is part of every athlete\u2019s motivation. But Cardoso never seems particularly consumed by external perception or interested in fighting it. She hardly even argues with referees, despite Marsh\u2019s conviction that she doesn\u2019t get enough calls.<\/a><\/p>\n For Cardoso, proving something to herself might be more important.<\/p>\n Though belief in her potential never really wavered within the Sky organization, the question was whether Cardoso believed it herself. She has acknowledged for years that she needs to play with more confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest thing for Mil is you can tell she wants it now,\u201d veteran guard Natasha Cloud said earlier this month. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that was there two years ago. .\u2009.\u2009. You\u2019re starting to see her understand that if you don\u2019t go when we\u2019re trying to give you the [bleeping] ball, it\u2019s a disservice to our team.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall, though, no single grandiose explanation accounts for Cardoso\u2019s improvement. She has just chipped away at it.<\/p>\n She stays after practice to work with her position coach. She gets extra lifts in with the veterans. The talk about wanting to be more aggressive and confident is showing up more consistently in how she plays.<\/p>\n The new roster has helped, too.<\/p>\n The 2024 and 2025 groups lacked sufficient talent, and neither gave her ideal conditions to develop offensively. She didn\u2019t have a premier point guard or much space to operate. This year\u2019s roster, even with its injuries, has solved a lot of those problems.<\/p>\n \u201cI think rebuilding without a \u2018stretch four\u2019 was really hard for Mil,\u201d Cloud said. \u201cBecause having two players playing in the same type of spaces, it made it hard for both of them honestly. With this freeing up for Mil .\u2009.\u2009. it could have been an All-Star season if we were winning a little bit more.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether we\u2019ve been good, whether we\u2019ve been bad, whether the adversity, Kamilla has been solid for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Solid is the perfect word to describe Cardoso\u2019s season. And yet returning to the question of what she could become remains justified.<\/p>\n At 6-7 with unique mobility, she has the physical gifts to overwhelm opponents. Against Phoenix, she set a league record by making 13 consecutive field goals and scored 30 points for the first time in her career. And she has made her mark without really exploring her outside shot.<\/p>\n The natural questions follow.<\/p>\n What if she let her jumper fly more often? What if her closeouts improved? What if she cut down the silly fouls?<\/p>\n Those questions might eventually determine the difference between very good and great.<\/p>\n But they shouldn\u2019t obscure what Car-doso already has become: a consistent, big-league threat. The product of three seasons of work, frustration and incremental growth.<\/p>\n Plenty of reason, in other words, for her coach to be proud.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The Sky drafted Westbeld in the second round in 2025, but injuries kept her sidelined for most of this season.<\/p>\n [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone] read<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/a816367\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3600x4325+0+0\/resize\/840x1009!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F89%2F75%2F5e47c5ec400ab2180105671d9e85%2F2282330736.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n \u00a0\n <\/p>\n
![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/d2f16da\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3689x2459+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F36%2Fb8%2Fe2e18dd34c7383bf0aa6b4a2dfde%2F2287252168.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/516d7a5\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5400x3602+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F02%2F80%2F0a71ba06426e85d55c8128374a18%2F1sky-081726.jpg\")
<\/p>\n