All things considered, the Seattle Storm are in rebuild mode beginning this season under first-year head coach Sonia Raman. Their season opener on Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena saw them face the Golden State Valkyries. What’s more, it was Seattle’s first chance to see former teammate in guard Gabby Williams, who signed with Golden State this offseason.
In the first quarter, Storm rookie guard Flau’jae Johnson scored the first points in her WNBA career via a three-pointer. Seattle held a 24 – 23 lead over the Valkyries after the quarter. However, Golden State outscored Seattle 26 – 17 in quarter number two.
At the conclusion of the first half, the Storm found themselves down 49 – 41 as guard Jade Melbourne led the team in scoring with 11 points. Overall, Seattle shot 48.4 percent (15-of-31) from the field while going 6-of-15 (40 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half.
Flau'jae Johnson, WELCOME TO THE W. ⛈️ pic.twitter.com/0lsplKFVuV
— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) May 9, 2026
Shifting to the second half, both teams combined for 81 points as the Valkyries edged the Storm by a 42 – 39 margin. In the end, Seattle fell short despite 27 of those 39 points coming in the fourth quarter. Golden State picked up the win in the season opener over the Storm 91 – 80.
Leading Scorers and What’s Next for Seattle
Forward Dominique Malonga led the way scoring with 21 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Next, guard Zia Cooke scored 15 points along with seven boards as Melbourne finished the game with 13 points. Lastly, Johnson impressed in her regular season debut with 12 points with nine of them coming from three-point range.
Offseason additions in center Stefanie Dolson and guard Natisha Hiedeman each notched five rebounds in the loss.
Zia with the splash 💦 pic.twitter.com/WFOKlRFNig
— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) May 9, 2026
For the Valkyries, forward Janelle Salaün scored a team-high 20 points as 13 of them came in the second half. It’s important to note Salaün drained five three-pointers in the contest. Also, guard Veronica Burton put up 14 of her 16 points in the first half while adding six assists in the win.
Additionally, second-year guard Kaitlyn Chen scored all 14 of her points in the second half. Finally, forward Kayla Thornton had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Up next for Seattle is a road game against the Connecticut Sun at the Mohegan Sun Arena as these squads are in search of their first victory.
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