It was a season of changes for Angel Goodrich.

She started camp with Tulsa and then found herself being picked up by the Storm on opening night. The 5-foot-4 guard then went from the third point guard on the team to being the primary backup to the greatest point guard in league history.

But she fought through the adversity and continued to develop into a key piece off the bench in Seattle.

“When I first came in, the situation was a bit different for me, in my role,” Goodrich said. “It changed in the middle of the season and everything was a great experience. Learning the system was tough at first because of training camp, I missed that. But in this business, anything can happen.”

After sitting the first eight games of the season, Goodrich played in 23 games with five starts and set a number of career-highs throughout the season and dished out 3.0 assists per game in 15.8 minutes.

At that rate, Goodrich was picking up 7.7 assists per 40 minutes, second in the league to Courtney Vandersloot and just ahead of her teammate Sue Bird.

Her impact was felt immediately and it happened to be against her former team. Goodrich scored eight points in 12 minutes off the bench against Tulsa and, four games later, she dished out eight assists off the bench at Phoenix.

Goodrich had a stretch from July 29 to Aug. 11 where she averaged 5.4 assists per game.

Goodrich got a chance to really take control at the end of the season as she started the final two games of the season and took control. She had a then-season-high 11 points with five assists in a 78-64 win over Minnesota and then wrapped the season with 12 points and a shocking 10 rebounds.

It was her first career double-double, just not in the way she ever thought would happen.

Aside from her impact on the court, what Goodrich noticed most was the difference in the locker room between Seattle and Tulsa. She was only in her third year in the league and was part of a very young Shock team, just like the Storm, but were missing one component.

“It was pretty young there but even though we were young here,” she said. “We still had those vets that have been in the league for a while and that leadership can take you a long way… I felt like the chemistry was stronger here.”

Upon her arrival, the Native American community in the Seattle region grew a quick affinity to Goodrich. The guard was the highest drafted Native American in WNBA history when she was taken in the third round of the 2013 Draft.

“A couple of people have come up to me and mentioned some ties they have with Native American tribes around here,” Goodrich said. “But one lady came up to me and it stands out because she said she works with a group of kids. She said, ‘They are so in love with you, so happy you’re in Seattle now,’ and that really touched me because I hear about different tribes but to know me personally. It’s just nice to know that they are supporting me.

“I’m glad they are seeing someone else who is also Native American in the league.”

Goodrich’s impact continued to grow on and off the court as the season wore on and it is something she looks forward to building on next season.