Storm Practice Notebook - April 23rd, 2026
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Ahead of their first preseason contest before the 2026 WNBA season, the Seattle Storm held the fourth practice session of training camp on Thursday, April 23rd, 2026. It’s still early in the preseason, but there were some key takeaways from the session in the final 30 minutes that the media were allowed to watch. It’s difficult to fully judge what you’re seeing from these sessions, as it’s just the very end of a larger practice session, but there are still some things that stick out and may tell you more about a player that you otherwise may not know.
With a few key players still unavailable for a few reasons, such as Ezi Magbegor, Katie Lou Samuelson, Jordan Horston, Jaelyn Brown, and Awa Fam, you can’t take the lineups and units we see this early into preseason at face value. Admittedly, it can be hard to keep up with some of the true lineups that we see, but some constant groups stuck together over the 30 minutes.
The starting five of Jade Melbourne, Lexie Brown, Zia Cooke, Stefanie Dolson, and Dominique Malonga appeared to be the “first” team, and given the names, it largely makes sense that they would be the top group at this stage of camp. The first changes off the bench for that group of five were Flau’jae Johnson for Lexie Brown and Grace VanSlooten for Stefanie Dolson. That starting five and those two substitutes were wearing black jerseys, while the second unit about to be mentioned was wearing gray.
Something that stuck out when this first unit was on the floor was that Dolson and Malonga both hit a few contested three-pointers that drew plenty of reactions from the bench. It was exciting to see Dolson hit from deep with the tough contest in her face, and the same can be said for Malonga, who hit a couple of contested shots from beyond the arc, including one in the corner.
Going back to those reactions from the bench, Storm fans will be thrilled to know that Mackenzie Holmes was her usual energetic self on the Seattle bench, which is something that was a regular sight this past season. After a Dom Malonga three-pointer, Holmes could be seen celebrating on the bench and saying “BOW BOW BOW BOW” loudly enough for the media on the other side of the court to hear. Additionally, Husky fans will enjoy hearing that Ladine was also showing her excitement for her teammates off the bench, and her celebration of teammate success looked like the energy she’d shown on the Washington bench for her Husky teammates. As many have picked up from the team’s media day and social media posts, it is apparently clear that this Storm team will have plenty of fun energy throughout the season.
Seattle Storm forward Mackenzie Holmes pictured talking with center Dominique Malonga after the teams September 9th, 2025 win over the Golden State Valkyries at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Sam Hotaling for Circling Seattle Sports)
The second unit of five consisted of Taina Mair, Elle Ladine, Jalyn “Ice” Brown, Rennia Davis, and Holmes. This group, largely made up of the rookies and camp invites, was an interesting one to watch when they got time against the male practice players, and a few players stuck out: Ladine and Brown. Ladine looked like the prolific shooter that we saw when she was wearing purple and gold, hitting some three-pointers off screens and letting her confidence show a bit. Brown’s speed and length were on display in this practice, and Raman highlighted that when asked about her by Jeff Brown of WNBA Storm Chasers.
“She’s fast, right? She can get up the floor. She’s really quick, you know, she has really good length. She’s still learning. So as she gets to the spots that she needs to be in defensively, she can get her hands on things, get deflections, and she can get out and run. I think that those two phases of the game are where she’s stood out a little bit more.”
Additionally, after Raman highlighted Ladine’s toughness when we asked about her on the teams media day, we wanted to follow up about the former Husky standout considering some of the nice plays that she’d made in practice today.
“She had a great practice today, and I think one of the things that was really fun to see is that she’s a great shooter. We started running her off some things to free her up for a shot, but her teammates started to understand that too. So once it was a close one, and they were battling back and forth, you know, next basket wins, they just started leaning into that and trying to continue to feed the hot hand. It’s been fun to see her continue to take steps forward in that area, and you know her teammates are certainly recognizing it too.”
Once practice is over, the team splits into different free-throw shooting groups. This really isn’t much to pay attention to, but in case people wanted to note them, here are some of the groups that we noticed.
Flau’jae Johnson, Elle Ladine, Natisha Hiedeman
Dominique Malonga, Jordan Horston, Beatrice Mompremier
Notes from practice
Forward Jordan Horston remained off to the side during this practice, not wearing a jersey during this practice session, but still cheering on her teammates. Horston did say on media day that she plans to be ready for the teams season opening game, so it will be interesting to note her progress as camp goes on.
In similar injury-related news, forward/center Ezi Magbegor and forward Katie Lou Samuelson were not seen on the courts during this practice session, but they could easily have been getting personal work done elsewhere in the facility. There isn’t a clear timeline for Samuelson’s return just yet, and it is different than Horston’s because her injury occurred later in the year than Jordan’s.
Jaelyn Brown, or “Jaelyn with an E” as she’s been referred to, considering the Jalyn Brown is also on a training camp contract with the Storm, arrived in Seattle ahead of this practice session. There was a banner welcoming her to the team's weight room, and she got a nice cheer when coach Raman mentioned her presence during the team’s huddle to officially end the practice.
Last player-related note, the third overall pick’s timeline remains unclear for when she’ll arrive in Seattle and start getting to work with the Storm. Awa Fam has a game with Valencia on Saturday, April 25th, the same day that Seattle plays Golden State in preseason action in California. A team spokesperson wasn’t sure when Fam would join the Storm after the conclusion of her season in Spain, and it seems likely that Seattle may give her a week or so to rest, similar to how Dominique Malonga’s situation was handled last season.
While her arrival time isn’t clear, head coach Sonia Raman told the team in her post-practice huddle that Fam has been watching the film the team sent her so she can be as up to speed as possible when she arrives. Additionally, Raman encouraged her team to continue sharing messages with her, however they could, to make her feel welcome. Raman did say that several of the players have already sent messages and been in communication with her, which is cool to hear that the roster is already making their soon-to-be teammate feel welcome.
What’s next?
Following today’s practice session, the team will not have any media availability tomorrow as they’ll be traveling to California for their preseason game the next day. On Saturday, April 25th, the Storm will take on the Golden State Valkyries at the Chase Center for a 5:30 PM PDT tipoff time for Seattle’s first exhibition contest of 2026. Local Storm fans can watch the game on the CW. Given that several key veterans will be unavailable for this game, it will be interesting to see which players head coach Sonia Raman deploys against the Valkyries.
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Check out our previous articles with writing by Charles Hamaker here.
Cover photo and photos in this article by Rowan Schaberg. Check out our previous articles with work by Rowan Schaberg here, and her portfolio here, as Rowan is a multi-media journalist that has written, video, and photo experience.
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