After ten games played, what assessment can be made of the arrival of Gabby Williams to the Storm? On an individual level, as on a collective level, it is very positive. After a complicated warm-up, with a lot of clumsiness, the Frenchwoman found her place and her rhythm, and the Seattle franchise remains on four victories in a row. With a record of 24 wins for 14 defeats, the Storm can still finish 4th, and win the home court advantage in the first round.
“It's just that I feel more comfortable,” she confides, about her rise to power. “It’s hard coming and going, starting late and everything else… But now that I’ve been here two years, I feel like I know what my role is, and where I can get my opportunities.”
Increased confidence
Nicknamed the “French Swiss Army Knife”, Gabby Williams has five high-quality games with an average of 14.4 points, but also 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Over the past three games, she has averaged 3 interceptions per game.
“There are games where I might be more of a facilitator. In other games, they might need me to score more.” continues the Olympic silver medalist. “I managed to find my cadence and my rhythm. Also, everyone here has so much confidence in me and everyone always tells me to keep pushing and keep moving forward, which helps me a lot.”
Storm coach Noelle Quinn is banking more on her, and is involving her more in attack, but also in defense. As in the French team, Gabby Williams is becoming, over the course of the matches, the driving force of the team.
“She’s the ultimate teammate.”
“We are counting on her to do a lot on the defensive and offensive side and to initiate the attack”, explains Noelle Quinn. “I encouraged her to be very aggressive, especially in transition, with plays that allow her to penetrate and reach the rim because she is athletically gifted, but also because she makes good decisions.”
What also changes a lot of things is the address found by the French woman. “We see her mid-range shot now. We see her confidence in her 3-point shot now. We see an extraordinary player in a period of confidence who is doing her best to help us achieve our goal. She is very valuable to us. It is an honor for me to coach her, and I am happy that she chose us. I will always be fully behind Gabby.”
The same feeling comes from Jewell Loyd, the team's offensive engine with an average of 19.7 points. “Gabby knows this league, and her game is still improving. She is so versatile. On defense, she can play positions 1 through 4, and sometimes even 5 if needed. On offense, it’s the same, she can play positions 1 through 4. In fact, we play her wherever we want. She can do everything, and do it well. She is the ultimate teammate. We saw the difference when she came in.”
A standing ovation
On Tuesday, the Storm host the Aces for what could be a playoff preview. Both teams could rest some players in preparation for the playoffs. But Gabby Williams will be there because she needs games, and she needs to make up for the time lost by the latter at home during the regular season.
“This season has been very enjoyable so far, and I'm happy,” concludes Gabby Williams, who received a standing ovation at the previous match. “Every version of the Storm I’ve played on has been different. This version is very defensive and intense. We don’t have to call a lot of systems because we share the ball. That’s always been Storm basketball, and it hasn’t changed. That’s why I came back, and I love being here!”
