Elle Ladine's Hometown Gamble: UW Guard Gets Her Shot With the Seattle Storm
Elle Ladine doesn't have to pack a U-Haul to chase her professional basketball dreams. The former Washington Huskies guard just got the call from the Seattle Storm, and she's staying right here in the Emerald City to prove she belongs.
Ladine, a 5-foot-11 guard from San Francisco, received a training-camp invite from the Storm, who kick off practice Sunday under first-year coach Sonia Raman. For a player who just wrapped one of the most prolific careers in recent UW history, this is the chance to keep the momentum rolling without leaving the Pacific Northwest.
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The numbers don't lie. Over four years in Seattle, Ladine finished 18th all-time in UW program scoring with 1,373 points, eighth in three-point field goals (166), and fourth in free-throw shooting percentage at 80.3%. Her career averages of 11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists came while shooting 42.5% from the field, 34.1% on threes, and a lights-out 80.3% at the stripe across 123 games and 88 starts.
As a junior, Ladine earned All-Big Ten second-team honors and put up career-high numbers: 17.0 points per game on 47.3% shooting, 39.3% from three, and 84.9% from the free-throw line. That's the kind of consistency the Storm are banking on.
The Road Back From Injury
Last season told a different story. A lower-body injury sidelined Ladine for the first six games, and when she returned, the numbers dipped. She averaged 9.9 points, shot 39.6% from the field, and 31.5% from three. It wasn't a slump so much as a recovery, and a professional staff in Seattle can help her get back to that junior-year form.
Ladine isn't alone in town trying to make the Storm roster. Seattle signed Zia Cooke and Mackenzie Holmes to training-camp contracts as well. The Storm currently have 14 players on the books, including draft picks Awa Fam, Flau'jae Johnson, Taina Mair, and Grace VanSlooten, all taken on draft day Monday. Teams can carry 18 during camp but must trim down to 12 before the May 8 regular-season opener. That's where Ladine needs to make her case.
This is her moment. No long plane rides, no starting over in a new city. Just a Husky trying to become a Storm.
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