Storm coach Sonia Raman will use the final contests to evaluate the team’s top three post players, who comprise a potentially dominant frontcourt if they get enough time to gel.
Just six games remain in a forgettable season that’s gone horribly awry for the Storm.
Conceivably, first-year coach Sonia Raman will use the final contests to gather as much data as possible on the team’s top three post players — Dominique Malonga, Ezi Magbegor and Awa Fam — who comprise a potentially dominant frontcourt if they get enough time to jell together on the court.
“It’s a work in progress,” Raman said after Sunday’s 92-70 loss to the Dallas Wings when asked about the Big Three.
While making their first start and sharing the floor in just their second game, the trio combined for just 14 points on 4-for-19 shooting, including 0 for 7 on three-pointers.
The 20-year-old Malonga, a 6-foot-6 center and first-time All-Star this season, led the group with 12 points, but she also committed a team-high five turnovers and played just 20 minutes due to foul trouble.
It remains to be seen if the 27-year-old Magbegor and 20-year-old Fam, both 6-4 forwards, can productively coexist on the floor in a supersized lineup that includes rookie Flau’jae Johnson and fourth-year veteran Jade Melbourne in the backcourt.
Against the Wings, Magbegor tallied just two points on 0-for-4 shooting from the floor while Fam was scoreless and missed all five attempts, including three three-pointers. They each played 25 minutes.
“Our spacing could have been a little bit better as we were looking to get the ball inside to Ezi,” Raman said. “We’ve got to be able to space the floor so she has room (for) driving lanes and all of that. I just didn’t feel like we had as much space.”
Meanwhile, the Wings frontcourt of Alanna Smith, Jessica Shepard and Awak Kuier collectively scored 29 points on 11-for-22 shooting while Dallas star Paige Bueckers torched the Storm for 32 points.
After a string of heartbreaking narrow defeats, the latest lopsided loss suggest Seattle is potentially regressing as the season winds down.
The Storm (7-31) are three defeats from tying the WNBA record for most losses in a season, but Raman doesn’t believe that players are mentally checked out.
“Sometimes shots don’t fall, but our players are getting in the gym shooting extra,” she said. “If they weren’t motivated, they wouldn’t be doing that. They’re pretty dedicated. They’re pretty hungry.
“They haven’t been standings watching this season. They’ve been out there battling all year long. Shots haven’t fallen lately and you can attribute that to a few different things.”
Losing Natisha Hiedeman is a contributing factor.
The veteran guard, who leads the Storm with 4.8 assists per game and is second in scoring (15.4 points per game) will miss her third straight game due to a shoulder injury when Seattle hosts the Tempo (11-26) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Climate Pledge Arena.
“It’s been challenging without T out there,” Raman said. “Not to play into excuses, more just the explanation of that is a factor. … The rest of the group is trying to figure out where those looks are and how to stay with the process we’ve been doing without her.”
The Tempo are without former Storm guard Brittney Sykes (foot) and forward Aneesah Morrow (knee) for the remainder of the season due to injuries.
It’s also unclear if All-Star guard Marina Mabrey, who is recovering from a hamstring/adductor injury that’s forced her to miss the past three games, will be available for Toronto.
The Tempo, which beat the Storm 86-73 on May 13 and 93-72 on May 30 in Toronto, make their first-ever trip to Seattle seeking to sweep the regular-season series.
Both teams are eliminated from the playoffs and stumble into the series finale posting identical 1-9 records in the past 10 games.
Percy Allen: pallen@seattletimes.com. Percy Allen is a sports reporter for The Seattle Times, where he writes about the University of Washington Huskies football and basketball teams.
| # | Наименование новости | Тональность | Информативность | Дата публикации |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Storm frontcourt squares off at FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup | 0 | 7.5 | 02-09-2026 |
| 2 | Awa Fam, Dominique Malonga back with Seattle Storm after FIBA World Cup break | 0 | 7.07 | 17-09-2026 |
| 3 | Seattle Storm’s young core heading into finale with mixed feelings | 0 | 9.2 | 23-09-2026 |
| 4 | Storm coach Sonia Raman’s offseason goal: ‘How can we get better?’ | 0 | 12.71 | 26-09-2026 |
| 5 | Flau’jae Johnson, Dominique Malonga, Awa Fam helping Storm build | 0 | 9.81 | 26-09-2026 |
| 6 | Seattle Storm shift mindset with WNBA playoffs out of the question | 0 | 7.14 | 14-08-2026 |
| 7 | Seattle Storm fall to Aces, set WNBA record for most losses in a season | 0 | 4.93 | 21-09-2026 |
| 8 | Photos: Seattle Storm defeat Toronto Tempo, 90-78 | 0 | 21.11 | 27-08-2026 |
| 9 | Flau’jae Johnson, Jade Melbourne help Seattle Storm snap 3-game skid | 0 | 11.58 | 27-08-2026 |
| 10 | Photos: Seattle Storm lose to Las Vegas Aces, 114-77 | 0 | 19.09 | 18-09-2026 |