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- ⛈️ Seattle Storm Spoil Loyd's Emerald City return
⛈️ Seattle Storm Spoil Loyd's Emerald City return
PLUS, how with Indiana Fever regroup after Caitlin Clark injury?
Brian Fleurantin & Black Rosie
May 27, 2025
In partnership with
⛈️ A SEATTLE HOMECOMING
Jewell Loyd. Photo Credit: Seattle Storm.
Jewell Loyd spent the first nine seasons of her career in Seattle. As a member of the Storm, she delivered many a magical moment and established herself as one of the best players in team history.
However, it ended on an incredibly acrimonious note. Loyd asked for a trade after the Storm were cleared of bullying and harassment allegations by the WNBA.
A month and a half later, Loyd got her wish and was sent to the Las Vegas Aces in a mega trade that saw Kelsey Plum leave Vegas to join the Los Angeles Sparks.
Before the game, Loyd spoke to Callie Fin of the Las Vegas Review-Journal about her return to Seattle. Fin asked Loyd about the moment she knew she needed to move on, and she gave a pretty telling answer
“Honestly, you never really know until stuff happens. But I knew that I couldn’t be in an environment that didn’t allow me to be myself. That’s all I knew.
Whether it was staying in Seattle, whether it’s coming here, going anywhere else, I just wanted to make sure that the environment I was in was a safe space for me. So that’s kind of my viewpoint. And obviously, a couple months later, things happened.”
We’ll probably never know the full story of why the relationship between Loyd and the Storm fell apart in the ways it did, but now we move on.
Beta Basket and Tempestade Talk’s Roberta Rodrigues was at Climate Pledge Arena on May 25 for the game and captured this tribute video the Storm made for Loyd
Very sweet moment as the Seattle Storm welcomes back Jewell Loyd with a special video that includes a song by her favorite artist, Justin Bieber. She looked emotional (happy) and all of the Aces players stopped to clap for her as the arena did the same.
— Roberta F. Rodrigues (@robertawbb)
9:49 PM • May 25, 2025
In her return, Loyd got off to a powerful start as she scored 12 first-quarter points to keep the Aces within striking distance of the Storm.
However, she only scored two points the rest of the way (going 0-10 from the field in the final three quarters) as the Storm went on to dominate the Aces and win 102-82.
After the game, Roberta joined our very own Erica L. Ayala for a postgame edition of Tempestade Talk!
These teams will meet again in Seattle on June 1. Can the Aces bounce back, or will Seattle take command of the season series?
Either way, Black Rosie Media will have you covered.
🤕 GROWING PAINS
Kamilla Cardoso and Rebecca Allen attempt to deny a shot from Leonie Fiebich (left). Photo Credit: Brandon Todd/New York Liberty
This offseason, the Chicago Sky underwent some major changes. Franchise legend Courtney Vandersloot returned to the team, and newcomers Rebecca Allen and Ariel Atkins joined the fold as well.
With new head coach Tyler Marsh taking the reins, there was optimism in the Second City coming into this season. So far, though, it’s been a windy start.The Sky lost their first two games of the season, making some unfortunate history along the way.
Per our friends at Across the Timeline, the Sky’s -60 point margin in the first two games of the season is the worst in league history.
Two young stars lead Chicago, and as a result, we sometimes see youthful frustration play out on the court. Luckily for Chicago, they have a steady vet who can guide them through troubled waters.
“We’re going to keep it moving. We didn’t think it was going to come all perfect together the first two games. We’re not panicking. We’re in a good place mentally. We’ve just got to make some adjustments and figure things out.”
Although the Sky fell to 0-3 after losing to the Los Angeles Sparks on May 25, the team believes they took a positive step forward and will be okay if they stick together and continue working hard.
With the season being a record high 44 games, the Sky still have plenty of time to right the ship. It would help the team’s confidence immensely if their hard work started translating into wins.
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📰 WHAT WE’RE READING
At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in women’s basketball.
Here’s what we’re reading:
Fever's DeWanna Bonner still a 'match-up problem' despite early struggles with Indiana, Stephanie White says by Erica L. Ayala for CBS Sports
Work-Life Balance is Liberty's New 'Nightmare' by Geoff Magliocchetti for Sports Illustrated
Why much more is expected of Kennedy Burke in her second year with the Liberty by Jackie Powell for The Next
Napheesa Collier’s leadership has fostered an ‘environment of growth’ in Minnesota by Terry Horstman for The Next
How a Trump Administration plan could impact a women’s basketball team that made the NCAA Tournament by Mitchell Northam for Breakaway
‘Around the Horn’ was too perfect to survive a broken, messed-up world by James Dator for SB Nation
‘There are no places for us to just be free’ by Tonia Hill for The Triibe
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⛹🏽♀️ UPCOMING GAMES
Here’s the schedule for the next few days (Eastern Standard Time)
Date and time | Matchup | Broadcast Details |
|---|---|---|
Tuesday, May 27 - 7 PM | DAL Wings @ CT Sun | League Pass |
Tuesday, May 27 - 7 PM | GS Valkyries @NY Liberty | League Pass |
Tuesday, May 27 - 8 PM | SEA Storm @ MN Lynx | League Pass |
Tuesday, May 27 - 10 PM | ATL Dream @ LA Sparks | League Pass |
Tuesday, May 27 - 10 PM | CHI Sky @ PHX Mercury | League Pass |
Wednesday, May 28 - 7:30 PM | IND Fever @ WAS Mystics | NBATV |
Thursday, May 29 - 7 PM | GS Valkyries @ NY Liberty | League Pass |
Thursday, May 29 - 8 PM | DAL Wings @ CHI Sky | Amazon Prime |
💰MONEY MOVES
BIG BUSINESS IN INDY
2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend logo. The Indiana Fever will host for the first time in franchise history. Photo Credit: WNBA
Black Rosie Media’s very own Erica L. Ayala was on the scene in Indianapolis for Saturday’s Fever vs. Liberty showdown.
These two contenders battled it out in what looked and felt like a playoff game in Week 2 of the 2025 WNBA season. The Liberty hung on long enough to win by two points.
Erica, Jordan Giorgio, and Chris Williamson broke it all down for CBS Sports.
Fever fans rolled 17,274-deep at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for a Memorial Day Weekend also packed with the Indy 500 and Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. To no surprise, Indy’s 2024 first-overall Draft pick was at the center of it all.
At NBC News, Andrew Greif wrote a feature story about Caitlin Clark and the financial impact she’s had on Indianapolis.
While an average of 17,035 fans attended the Fever’s 20 home games — more than the city’s NBA team, which shares the same arena, averaged over 41 games — overall WNBA attendance increased from an average of 6,615 in 2023 to 9,807. Last season, as Fever games produced the most-watched WNBA games ever on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS and NBA TV, leaguewide viewership also broke records, including an average of 1.2 million per ESPN broadcast.
The WNBA, as a private company, does not disclose revenue figures, a league spokesperson said. Yet the league reported last year that its merchandise sales through Dick’s Sporting Goods had increased by 233% over the previous season.
A spokesperson for Fanatics, the WNBA’s official e-commerce partner, said that Clark ranks in the top 20 of its top-selling athletes across all sports, and sixth among all basketball players, including the NBA.
Clark’s ascendance has been one of the most talked-about stories in popular culture for the past few years. Wherever she goes, the audience, engagement, and money follow.
Prior to her arrival in 2024, the WNBA had been steadily making gains following the COVID-19 pandemic. With Clark, it’s gone into overdrive and opened up a whole new world of possibilities.
As CBA negotiations between the league and Players’ Association continue, the momentum generated in the past few years will go a long way in getting players the benefits and rewards they deserve.
But for the time being, the Fever will have to do without their superstar. On May 26, the Fever announced that Clark will miss at least two weeks due to a left quadriceps strain. The earliest she could return would be June 10 on the road against the Atlanta Dream.
In Clark’s absence, look for Sydney Colson to see more minutes at the point guard position.
We’ll also see if Coach Stephanie White runs more of the offense through Aliyah Boston. Boston and Clark have developed picture-perfect chemistry in their second year together, so it will be an adjustment for AB and the rest of the team now that their superstar teammate is out for a while.
Boston has been excellent to start this season and is making an early case for herself in the WNBA All-Star voting. Kelsey Mitchell is also expected to assume a more significant role.
The Fever has done well to highlight their entire roster and make them household names alongside Clark. More importantly, they've built a well-rounded roster that is knocking on the door of championship contention.
Missing Clark certainly hurts, but the Fever still have plenty of talent that will help them keep things steady while their superstar heals.
If Clark’s timeline remains the same, she’ll have over a month to get into good form ahead of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend hosted by Indianapolis.
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