The Seattle Storm announced Friday that they have signed Alysha Clark to a multi-year contract extension.
Clark, a six-year pro, has been a starter for the club since 2014. She played 28 minutes per game in 2017 and shot 52.5 percent from the field. Clark was set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2018 season.
“Alysha has been an important part of the foundation of the Storm since 2012,” said Storm general manager Alisha Valavanis in Friday’s release. “She brings a disruptive, blue collar mindset on the defensive end and we are looking forward to her continued contributions in Seattle.”
Clark got a training camp invite from the Storm in 2012 and earned a spot on the roster. She drew her first start in 2014, and her minutes load has increased each year since.
With Clark wrapping up her overseas play for the 2017-2018 season, the Storm started Breanna Stewart, Crystal Langhorne and Natasha Howard up front in their preseason opener against the Phoenix Mercury.
Related Story: Storm acquire Natasha Howard
Seattle returns its starting group from 2017 (Stewart, Langhorne, Clark, Sue Bird and Jewell Loyd) along with several key role players.
Clark is known for her on-ball defense on the perimeter — she drew the primary assignment on Diana Taurasi in the team’s first round playoff matchup last year against the Mercury. And at 5’11, Clark often looks to take smaller guards down into the post to score. She averaged 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game last season and shot 32.8 percent on 67 three-point attempts.
2018 WNBA Twitter stream schedule to kick off with day-long quadruple-header
#WNBAAllDay will kick off a slate of 20 WNBA games to be streamed exclusively on Twitter this season. It all starts Sunday, May 20.
The Storm will host the Mercury for their regular season opener (9 PM ET, May 20). The game will be streamed live on Twitter.