May 17, 2019
The Seattle Storm closes out its 2019 preseason Friday night as the team heads to Los Angeles to face the Sparks at 7:30 p.m. PT at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium in Pasadena, Calif.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live stream will not be available for Friday’s preseason game. Fans can follow live stats at StormBasketball.com, or on Twitter by following @SeattleStorm.
LAST TIME OUT
The Storm fell in a close 87-84 game to the Phoenix Mercury at home in its first preseason contest. Natasha Howard and Mercedes Russell led the team with 15 points apiece.
Assistant coach Gary Kloppenburg will continue to act as head coach through the remainder of the preseason due to the absence of head coach Dan Hughes. Former Storm guard Noelle Quinn was named as an assistant coach for the 2019 season.
Quinn and guard Jordin Canada both grew up in the Los Angeles area and attended UCLA. Canada, in her sophomore season in the WNBA, dropped 13 points in the Storm’s first preseason game against the Mercury and led the team in playing time.
Seattle is joined by a few new faces, including free agent signing Shavonte Zellous, and draft picks Mississippi State forward Anriel Howard (No. 24 overall) and South Dakota State guard Macy Miller(No. 36 overall). Also on training camp contracts are Cal guard Recee Caldwell, Central Michigan guard Presley Hudson, and West Virginia forward Teana Muldrow, Seattle’s 2018 third round pick.
Hudson scored a key three-pointer in the final minute of play in the Storm’s loss to the Mercury earlier this week, her third of the game. Caldwell put up 11 points in the game, one of four players in double digits.
Jewell Loyd will make her 2019 debut after missing the Storm’s first preseason matchup. Loyd made her first WNBA All-Star appearance last season, averaging 15.5 ppg. Loyd has started all 34 regular season games for the Storm for the past three seasons.
STORM IN PRESEASON GAMES
The Storm is 21-27 all-time in preseason play coming off the narrow loss to the Mercury. This game against Los Angeles will end a streak of nine consecutive preseason games versus Phoenix. The Sparks and the Storm have not met in the preseason since 2014, but met every year from 2011 to 2014. Seattle is 2-4 all-time in the preseason versus Los Angles, and 1-2 on the road.
SCOUTING LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles entered the 2019 season after a second-round loss to the Washington Mystics in the 2018 playoffs and a 19-15 record in the regular season.
The Sparks lost their first preseason matchup 82-75 to the Phoenix Mercury. Former Storm draft pick Ashley Walker scored 16 points to lead Los Angeles in her return to the WNBA.
Los Angeles recently acquired Chiney Ogwumike from the Connecticut Sun. In her first time out against Seattle on June 15 last season, Ogwumike scored a career-high 30 points, shooting 13-16.
UP NEXT
After heading to Pasadena to play the Sparks, the Storm will open the season at home, hosting the Phoenix Mercury at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Wash. at 12:30 p.m.