Flau'jae Johnson leads new-look Seattle Storm past Portland Fire in preseason win
Climate Pledge Arena got a first look at a brand-new coach, a new-look group and a new-ish regional rival in Wednesday's preseason finale, a 91-81 Storm victory against the Portland Fire.
The Fire played in Portland from 2000-02, and were recently revived after 23 dormant seasons. The teams will meet four times during the regular season. Portland will be back at Climate Pledge Arena on July 4.
While the Fire prepared to take the floor for their own preseason debut, first-year Storm head coach Sonia Raman took over her new spot. Raman served as an assistant coach for the New York Liberty last season. Seattle announced her hiring in November.
It wasn't always pretty for the home team, and Portland regularly threatened to take over the lead.
"We're learning about ourselves, and part of what we're needing to learn is: How resilient are we? How much can we move on to the next play?" Raman said. "And I think today was a really good start in terms of the resiliency part."
"Defending without fouling is the thing that we need to improve on after today. That's going to be a huge focal point going forward, obviously."
The Storm had 18 free-throw attempts during the opening quarter alone. Flau'jae Johnson sank a three as time expired and celebrated like this game counted. She kicked off the second quarter similarly, part of a team-leading 20 points. Zia Cooke finished with 19 points off the bench.
Cooke spent time in Seattle during two separate stints last year and averaged 10 minutes per game. She, too, was clearly excited about her standout performance Wednesday and indulged in a few dance moves.
"That was different (for) me, I would say," Cooke said. "But I've just been having fun. That's the type of stuff that happens when you're having a good time. Honestly, I haven't felt that way since college, so I'm extremely grateful to be in this position for sure."
Johnson's fellow rookies started trickling in during the second half. Taina Mair, drafted 14th overall out of Duke earlier this month, made her CPA debut late in the third quarter. UW alum Elle Ladine, a training camp invite, delighted the crowd with a late three-pointer in 6:23 of action.
Dominique Malonga had a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Johnson was drafted No. 8 overall by the Golden State Valkyries out of LSU, then went to Seattle in exchange for the rights to forward Marta Suarez of TCU, along with a 2028 second-round selection. Johnson made her preseason debut Saturday night in a 78-76 loss to the Valkyries. She finished with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
In her home debut, her energy was contagious. Though they're getting used to playing together, Cooke called Johnson "a breath of fresh air."
She came in confident, and that's what we love," Raman added. "You can't teach that. It's great that she has it. It's great that it comes from within. And on top of that, we do give her a lot of freedom to be able to go off of feel and instincts, but still within the system.
"She's still learning, and there's certainly things that she needs to improve on, and we'll work on with her. But you want players to be out there with the utmost confidence. That's huge.
Johnson welcomed the improvement.
"I never wanted to come in and just, like, be a rookie. I wanted to help," Johnson, 22, said. "So it's different things that I'm not even knowing about the game, that I'm learning. It's super fun."
Sarah Ashlee Barker chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and three assists to lead Portland.
The Storm had some notable absences. On April 20, forward Ezi Magbegor was ruled out for at least six to eight weeks due to a right foot injury sustained while playing for Australia in the 2026 FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers. Rookie center Awa Fam, the 2026 No. 3 overall pick, is playing with Valencia Basket in Spain and expected to join the Storm after that season ends.
Forwards Jordan Horston and Katie Lou Samuelson, who are both returning from ACL injuries that forced them to miss last season, did not play Wednesday.
Opening night is May 8 against the Valkyries.
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