Sky rookies share draft experience with their mothers

Kseniya Malashka’s mother, Hanna, stayed up all night in anticipation of the possibility that her daughter would be selected in the 2023 WNBA Draft. 

Back home in Belarus, Hanna followed the draft as best she could, closely monitoring draft lists to see if Kseniya’s name would appear. It was Hanna who introduced her to basketball and served as her first coach. Regardless of the miles that separated the two, there was no circumstance that was going to prevent her from sharing this moment with her daughter. 

And when Kseniya was picked in the third round (35th overall), it was a realization of Hanna’s own dream coming true. 

“Basketball was always around me because of my mom,” Malashka told the Sun-Times. “She was really good. She sacrificed her career to have a family, and that’s been my biggest motivation.” 

The first thing Hanna did was wake up her husband to let him know their daughter would be playing in Chicago. His subsequent question brought tears of laughter to his daughter’s eyes. 

“So you’re a Bull now?” he asked over the phone. 

“He didn’t know it was the Chicago Sky,” Malashka said, laughing. 

Malashka hasn’t seen her immediate family in two years, a difficult reality of leaving her home to pursue an education and basketball career in the United States. 

Malashka attended high school in Canada before playing her first two collegiate seasons at VCU and finishing at Middle Tennessee. The 6-0 redshirt senior was a two-time Conference USA sixth player of the year and was named to the conference’s preseason All-Conference team in 2022-23. 

Her 15.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season helped lead Middle Tennessee to a 28-5 record, an NCAA Tournament appearance and a C-USA regular-season and tournament title. 

“For [my mom], it was hard to let me go so far,” Malashka said. “She was crying and so happy that everything was worth it, that everything worked out.” 

Like her daughter, Hanna was a versatile player navigating the hybrid guard-forward role seamlessly. That style of play is what gives Malashka the confidence that her game will translate at the next level. 

“I will do anything they need me to,” Malashka said. “If they want me to play guard, I will play guard. If they want me at the post, I can do that, too. Whatever it takes to help the team.” 

With the departure of Astou Ndour-Fall, who will not play for the Sky in 2023 because of limited time off between the WNBA season and her international schedule, according to her agent, the Sky potentially could field a 12-player roster. 

Sky coach/general manager James Wade has options, but Ndour-Fall’s absence can serve as an opportunity for both Malashka and the 23rd overall pick, Virginia Tech guard Kayana Traylor. 

While Malshka was watching the draft…