What Awa Fam's 10-Point Debut Actually Means For The Storm's Season Turnaround

Alright, Emerald City, can we get a loud cheer for our Seattle Storm?! Sunday was absolutely electric at Climate Pledge Arena, as our squad straight up *battled* the Washington Mystics for a gritty 97-85 win! Natisha Hiedeman went off for a career-high 24 points, rookie Flau'jae Johnson dropped a season-best 17, but seriously, the biggest news of the night? The highly anticipated WNBA debut of Awa Fam, our No. 3 overall draft pick, who wasted no time making her presence felt. After snapping a tough three-game skid against Connecticut on Friday, this win feels like the spark we needed to ignite our season, especially with Fam hitting the ground running!

Awa Fam is Here, and the League Needs to Take Notice

Let's talk about Awa Fam! This 6-foot-4 center, who doesn't even turn 20 until June 17, just stepped onto a WNBA court for the first time, played 20 minutes, and banked 10 points. Are you kidding me?! She literally just joined the Storm on Friday after helping Valencia snag the Spanish League title, and she's already making highlight plays. Her first WNBA points came off a sweet pick-and-roll with Flau'jae Johnson late in the second quarter, a layup that showed us just a glimpse of what's coming. Imagine what she'll do once she's fully integrated and has a few more games under her belt. This kind of immediate impact from a rookie is exactly the energy our 3-4 team needs right now.

Offensive Explosion and Defensive Grits

While Fam's debut was huge, the whole team brought the heat. Natisha Hiedeman was just locked in, tying her career-high with 24 points, including a crucial three-pointer that put us ahead for good in the second quarter and a long floater right before halftime to make it 49-37. Flau'jae Johnson wasn't just scoring her season-best 17; she was a force all over the court with seven rebounds and five assists on top of going 7 of 12 from the field. And can we give some love to Stefanie Dolson? She chipped in 16 points on perfect shooting from the field, from three, *and* from the line. Zia Cooke added 10 points to round out the scoring barrage. Even without Dominique Malonga, who leads the Storm in scoring and rebounds and missed her fourth straight game due to concussion protocol, our squad showed up big. We put up a season-high 13 three-pointers on 28 attempts and were absolutely lights out from the charity stripe, hitting 32 of 34 free throws for a ridiculous 94%! It was a wild game with 75 total free throws, 52 of those coming in the second half, but the Storm stayed composed and secured the win. What's next for our Storm? You know it! We run it back against these same Washington Mystics right here in Seattle on Wednesday. With Awa Fam now officially in the mix and the team finding its rhythm after two straight wins, you absolutely cannot miss it. The momentum is building, and this team is ready to show the league what the Emerald City is all about!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.