Seattle Storm waive Alexis Peterson, add three to camp
By Ben Dull
The Seattle Storm have waived point guard Alexis Peterson. The Storm also signed Brittany McPhee, Emily Potter and Khaalia Hillsman to training camp contracts. Seattle opened training camp with 16 players on its roster as Alysha Clark wraps up her season overseas.
Peterson, a 5’7 guard out of Syracuse, was selected 15th overall by the Storm in the second round of the 2017 WNBA Draft. She logged 121 minutes in 17 games as a rookie in the 2017 regular season. Seattle also waived Lanay Montgomery, their 2017 third round pick, last month.
The Storm were forced to make these tough decisions to make room on their roster for No. 5 overall pick Jordin Canada. Unless additional players are waived or traded, new head coach Dan Hughes can expect heavy competition in training camp for the team’s final roster spot.
The Storm selected Teana Muldrow in the third round of this year’s draft out of West Virginia. She’ll be locked in competition with young Serbian forward Aleksandra Crvendakic and the three most recent training camp signees.
McPhee was the quintessential glue player for a Stanford team that made it to the Sweet 16 this past season before being upended by No. 1-seeded Louisville. She led the team with 16.7 points per game as she took her game to another level as a senior. Perhaps the biggest highlight of her season came at Oregon, where she scored 31 points in the second half of a nationally televised game to lead the Cardinal to a massive road win over the eventual Pac-12 regular season and tournament champion Ducks.
McPhee said the following in a team release:
"Growing up in Normandy Park, Wash., the Seattle Storm was a big part of why I grew to love basketball. They were the championship franchise in Seattle winning in 2004 and 2010. Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson and all the other great players were perfect role models to see how women can succeed and achieve their goals in sports. I am very thankful and honored for the opportunity to continue my basketball career with the Storm and can’t wait to get started!"
The 6’5 Hillsman averaged 14.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as a senior for a Texas A&M Aggies squad that also made it to the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual champion Notre Dame. She finished her college career ranking in the top ten in points, rebounds and blocks in A&M program history.
“Playing in the WNBA has long been a dream of mine,” said Hillsman. “Being able to compete against the best players in the world is the opportunity of a lifetime. Coach Dan Hughes is a legend, and I can’t wait to soak up knowledge from him and the entire Storm coaching staff.”
Potter, also a center, starred collegiately at Utah. She holds the program’s all-time record for blocks. Potter earned All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Defense honorable mention honors this past season and led the Utes to three consecutive trips to the WNIT.
“I am so excited to have this opportunity with the Storm,” said Potter. “I’m feeling very thankful right now that I get to try out for the Storm and play with and meet amazing women. I can’t wait to learn new things from the coaching staff and just have fun doing what I love.”
Next: Storm head coach Dan Hughes on the LockedOnWBB podcast
Last season’s starting unit returns, which featured Clark, Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, Crystal Langhorne and Breanna Stewart. Sami Whitcomb, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Noelle Quinn add valuable depth on the wing. Veterans Natasha Howard (acquired via sign-and-trade with Minnesota) and Courtney Paris (signed as unrestricted free agent) will be valuable additions to the frontcourt with Ramu Tokashiki set to miss the entire 2018 season.