SEATTLE -- Seattle Storm rookie guard Nika Muhl made her WNBA debut Wednesday at home against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever after completing the process of converting her student visa to a P1A work visa.
Muhl, the No. 14 overall pick out of UConn, received a loud ovation as she entered the game off the bench with 2 minutes, 39 seconds left in the third quarter. She played just three minutes, missing her only shot from the field and adding two rebounds. The Storm won 85-83.
Muhl participated in the Storm's training camp and in a preseason game against the Phoenix Mercury but was forced to miss Seattle's first four games of the regular season due to complications with her visa. That left Kiana Williams as the Storm's only point guard on the roster behind starter Skylar Diggins-Smith, with veteran wing Sami Whitcomb also sliding over to play minutes at the point. Seattle entered Wednesday's game with a 1-3 record.
Because the Storm were busy traveling during a three-game road trip after last Tuesday's home opener against the Minnesota Lynx, there had been few practices in that span.
"A lot of her preparation obviously through film, but also we got some extra workouts with her I think when we were in Washington and in New York as well," Seattle coach Noelle Quinn said before Wednesday's game. "Not a lot of team stuff because we didn't practice but a lot of individual work."
Before Wednesday, Muhl's last competitive game saw her defend Clark for the UConn Huskies as they faced the Iowa Hawkeyes in the national semifinals of last month's Final Four. Clark was limited to 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting, tying her lowest output as a senior, but Iowa beat UConn 71-69 to reach the title game before losing to South Carolina.
"The biggest thing is she's had reps with Caitlin Clark and if that's going to be her matchup, then I feel comfortable," Quinn said before Wednesday's game.
"There's a clear scout that she followed -- the physicality that she had, picking her up full court, playing in her space and being physical. Those are the things that stand out to me the most. Obviously here on the pro level, there's more actions that she has to guard and defend. Knowing what her strengths are, I thought that she did a good job of staying in her space the majority of that game."
To some degree, Muhl's defense in the Final Four set the template for Clark's WNBA opponents through her first four games as a professional. Veterans DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun and the New York Liberty's Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, the latter a two-time member of the WNBA All-Defensive team, have pressured Clark while using their size to deny her the basketball.
"It's kind of magnified now because you have players who have been at this level for multiple years and understand scout, understand physicality, understand strength of players and how you neutralize that strength with what you do defensively," Quinn said. "More mindfulness around how you defender her and not just hoping that she misses shots is actually playing a part in the coverage."
In addition to Muhl's debut, Seattle got back All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike, who returned to the starting lineup Wednesday after missing two games with an ankle injury suffered last Friday against the Minnesota Lynx. Ogwumike had 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go with 9 rebounds and 3 assists.