Stefanie Dolson and the Chicago Sky have their sights set on the postseason after back-to-back years in the lottery.

The UConn alum is one of the team’s most vocal leaders for new head coach and general manager James Wade. At 7-8, this is easily the Sky's best start in the post-Elena Delle Donne era.

In the past, the Sky didn't have the full squad together to start the season. Starting point guard Courtney Vandersloot missed the first four games of the 2017 and 2018 seasons. All-Star guard Allie Quigley missed the first three of 2017 as well. This year that wasn't the case.

The Sky were in a better position to hit the ground running this season spending more time on the practice court before the start of the regular season. They have made their postseason goals clear.

“We just have to have confidence in ourselves,” Dolson told Storrs Central. “That’s a strength in and of its own. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if anyone else does or not. So for us, we go out every night knowing how good we are and how good we can be.”

Dolson remains the starting center for a group that must improve defensively. The Sky had the worst defensive rating in the league last season, allowing 109.9 points per 100 possessions per WNBA.com. Through 13 games, that number is down to 100—ninth in the league.

Individually, Dolson knows exactly who she is as a player and is looking to continue to sharpen her current strengths.

“For me, it’s just always about getting stronger and getting quicker,” she said. “I think my game, not to say I’m not gonna add more to it, I always want to add things to it. But I’m a pretty basic player—the fundamental moves, the fundamental parts of the game. For me, it’s just about perfecting those and getting them as best as I can.”

Dolson’s shooting from the center position opens the floor up to an extreme degree that can't be quantified, especially considering the abilities of burgeoning superstar Diamond DeShields around the basket and getting to the foul line.

Dolson has connected on 39.5 percent of 157 3-point attempts in her Chicago tenure. She’s even more deadly as a mid-range threat, shooting 50.5 percent on 186 attempts in the same span.

Fellow former Husky Katie Lou Samuelson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 draft, will also be an important floor-spacer for the Sky this season. She’s been out since June 9 with a hand injury but will further bolster their guard wing depth alongside 2018 No. 4 overall pick Gabby Williams.

Dolson enjoys the opportunity to mentor and play with fellow members of the UConn family at the highest level.

“I think it’s something that comes naturally for most college players,” Dolson said. “But for UConn especially, we’re such a family. We see each other a lot outside of basketball no matter what year you were there. So for me, I think it came naturally. I was really excited for Gabby to come here and then to find out Lou was also.”

Chicago’s veteran core (Dolson, Vandersloot and Quigley) and trio of recent lottery picks (Williams, Samuelson, DeShields) has been bolstered by the improvement of Cheyenne Parker and addition of veteran Jantel Lavender.

Dolson, Lavender and Parker have settled into a nice groove soaking up most of the available frontcourt minutes, while Wade also has the flexibility to run with a smaller, quicker lineup by slotting Williams, DeShields or Samuelson in at the 4 spot.

Lavender opens up the floor even more next to Dolson in the starting lineup with her spot-up shooting, and either player works nicely alongside Parker, who prefers to duck in to score out of the post.

“It’s been fun,” Dolson said. “We’re all a different type of post player. We all can do different things. It’s easy and fun to play with them because we all have different types of skills. I think we work well together, and it’s been nice to have that three-person rotation.”

Vandersloot is a masterful pick-and-roll passer, utilizing passing windows many players may never even see. Any chance to get her attacking downhill before the defense gets set is a tremendous advantage for the Sky, especially with Dolson’s ability to pick and pop for spot-up 3-pointers.

Dolson admitted it has taken some time to get used to playing with such a creative passer.

“It’s fun, it’s exciting, but it definitely took me a little while to figure out how to play with her because she does such amazing, different passes,” Dolson said. “But it’s become easier because of that. She just makes the right pass. So for all of us that get to play with her, it’s a privilege because she makes the game come easier.”

Dolson has been a very productive stretch 5 as a member of the Sky, averaging 1.072 points per possession in 208 possessions as a pick-and-roll finisher per Synergy Sports. As a spot-up shooter: 0.980 points per possession in 202 possessions.

For context, the league’s top halfcourt offense in 2019 through Sunday, the Washington Mystics, has managed 0.949 points per possession.

In short, good things happen for the Sky when they’re able to use Dolson’s shooting ability to pull opposing shot blockers out of the lane.

Nearly 40 percent of Dolson’s field goal attempts this season have been 3-pointers according to Basketball-Reference, a big step up compared to her first two seasons in Chicago.

Dolson, a very gifted passer in her own right, and Vandersloot might be the league’s most talented point guard-center passing duo. Her 17.5 assist percentage last season ranked third among bigs per Basketball-Reference, trailing only Los Angeles Sparks All-WNBA forward Candace Parker (28.3) and Connecticut Sun All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas (19.4).

Chicago’s June 30 game in Las Vegas against the Aces illustrated Dolson’s importance and unique combination of skills. She drilled two 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the game, making A’ja Wilson pay for sagging off of her in order to help out in the lane.

But Dolson picked up a third foul with 1:49 to play in the first quarter. The Sky have capable reserves, but can’t get the same levels of shooting, passing, post defense and rebounding all in one package from anybody else on roster.

“It hurts us because she’s an important piece of what we want to do,” Wade said of the foul trouble. “We thought that matchup on that side of the floor was in our favor. When she gets those fouls, it puts us behind the 8-ball a little bit.”

Wade’s confidence in Dolson’s strengths in a matchup with a frontcourt featuring Wilson, a 2018 All-Star and top-five scorer as a rookie, and All-WNBA center Liz Cambage speaks volumes.

“We’re gonna need her to be successful,” Wade added.

Dolson missed seven games last season due to a foot injury. Chicago went 1-6 in that stretch.

Having spent more time together in the preseason under a new coach with Samuelson (hand) on the mend and reserve forward Astou Ndour set to return shortly from EuroBasket, Dolson and the Sky are firmly in the playoff hunt as the All-Star break approaches.