It didn’t take long for the Seattle Storm to realize they couldn’t bully rookie Alissa Pili on Tuesday night.
Seattle’s 6-foot-6 center Mercedes Russell took it to the Minnesota Lynx first-round draft pick out of Anchorage the moment Pili stepped onto a WNBA court for the first time at 4:56 of the first quarter.
Russell had Pili on her hip as she attempted to back her down in the post, but the Alaskan stood strong as Russell never really bumped Pili off her spot. Finally, a weakside foul by a teammate stopped the play but Pili had passed her first test.
So did the Lynx, who beat Seattle 83-70 on opening night as an 8-point road underdog. Pili played 10 minutes.
Coming into the season, the biggest question mark surrounding the two-time All-American forward out of the University of Utah was how she’d match up defensively. But she held her own when challenged as she showcased her brute force to hold firm when Seattle players tried (and failed) to body her up; both fouls she was whistled for were on reach ins.
Listed at 6-foot-2, Pili looked closer to 6 feet, yet her presence was not diminished on the biggest stage in women’s basketball.
Fun to watch Alissa Pili in her professional debut. A lot of Alaskans cheering her on. #Pilipower #wnba pic.twitter.com/1zpLs2v2EN
— Alaskathryn (@WindingVine) May 15, 2024
The WNBA is a big jump from college and that leap can be humbling, especially the first game. After starting 122 of 128 games in college, Pili came off the bench Tuesday. And it may have been the first time she didn’t score in a game going back to the first time she touched a basketball.
One of only two Alaskans to score 2,000 points in high school and college, Pili didn’t really look to score Tuesday. Her only shot attempt came on a hurried 3-point shot. Other than that, she never touched the ball in a position to score.
There were times in the post when she sealed off her defender and Minnesota looked to get her the ball, but all three pass attempts resulted in a turnover. Pili made those plays look easy in college. Things will be more difficult in the WNBA, and Pili knows that, so look for her to adjust moving forward.
Minnesota’s next game is Friday at home against Seattle in at the back end of a home-and-home series to start the season.
WNBA DEBUTS
Game 1 Scoring For Alaskans
8 – Kelsey Griffin 5/15/10
6 – Andrea Lloyd 6/12/99
4 – Ruthy Hebard 7/26/20
0 – Molly Tuter 7/07/97
0 – Jessica Moore 5/28/05
0 – Alissa Pili 5/14/24
For the most part Tuesday, Pili camped out on the 3-point line. At Utah, she made 86 3s in two seasons on a 41% clip. She was 7-of-14 in two games at March’s NCAA Tournament, so the stroke is there. The opportunities were not.
Moments after missing her only shot attempt, Pili grabbed her first rebound in the WNBA.
Other than that, though, it was a pretty quiet night for the former Dimond High star. Most of her playing time came in the first half, although she was on the court late in the third quarter when the Lynx started to pull away.
