Calling the West Coast home was new for Quanitra Hollingsworth. The Virginia native had played at VCU, was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx, and played for New York and Washington with stints with the Turkish National Team mixed in.

The 6-foot-5 Hollingsworth, who began the regular season as the tallest player on the roster, was one of eight newcomers to Seattle and a much welcomed presence in the middle.

In the second game of the season, Hollingsworth pulled down eight boards and then a couple of weeks later had back-to-back seven-rebound performances against Courtney Paris, the league’s best on the glass.

Despite the team going 1-2 in those games, the team was focused on the development of its individual pieces.

“From the beginning, we focused on ourselves and not necessarily on wins and losses,” she said. “We weren’t stress ourselves out. We were free to be ourselves, free to develop, free to grow and that’s a big part of what we’re going to need and what this team is going to need in the future.”

Hollingworth also came in as one of the more experienced players as she was heading into her fifth WNBA season and seventh professional season. That lended itself well to some of her younger teammates.

“I was able to be in the younger girls’ ears,” she said. “Just be that example in that sense without having to be on the floor. I just controlled what I could control and I made sure I was a positive influence and I hope they were able to pick up something from that.”

She played in 27 games and, despite only playing 12.3 minutes per game, averaged 3.6 rebounds per contest. That comes out to 11.7 rebounds per 40 minutes, which was tied for second best in the league.

Hollingsworth had six or more rebounds six times and had a season-high of 12 in the season finale.

She came through in a big way on offense in the team’s 78-64 win over Minnesota on Sept. 11 when she scored a season-high eight points and hit 4-for-5 from the line in 20 minutes.

Those last couple of games also saw the pairing of Hollingsworth and fellow center Markeisha Gatling on the floor at the same time, which had not happened all season, even in practice, but was something the pair enjoyed.

“It almost felt like pick up in a sense,” Hollingsworth said. “We were just flowing, we weren’t thinking too much… We adapted to it and I think it was a pretty good look. It was harder for team to match up with it.

“Maybe we’ll see a little bit more of it. I may have to work on my outside jumper a little bit more, play some 4.”

While she did not see a great deal of time on the floor, Hollingsworth impact can be seen in other ways and hopefully it carries over into 2016.