It’s Angel Goodrich’s fourth season with the WNBA and she is returning to spend it with us in Seattle again. The Seattle Storm announced her return on February 9, 2016. Storm head coach Jenny Boucek was excited to announce the return of the point guard, saying, “Angel is a playmaker who thrives on creating for and making her teammates better. There are not many pure point guards in the game anymore so to have a young, hungry player at this position is a real benefit.”

Last season, Goodrich was a backup point guard and she averaged 3.0 assists per game. It was her career high. She played in 23 games with the team, starting in five of those. Prior to joining the Storm, she played for Tulsa Shock where she made appearances in 60 games. 31 of those games occurred during her rookie season. She also holds the Allen Fieldhouse record for making 16 assists in a single game.

Born February 24, 1990, Goodrich stands at 5’4 and weighs 127 pounds. The Cherokee player has torn her ACL twice but it never stopped her. The tenacious young woman has always simply wanted to play basketball and locally she was even dubbed a “little young Michael Jordan.” Goodrich started playing basketball when she was in the second grade and hanging out at the gym with her parents, who were stationed on an Air Force base. She says the secret to her success is that she is teachable and enjoys learning.

Goodrich is the highest drafted Native American in history. She was the 29^th overall draft pick in 2013 and chosen by Tulsa. She is famous for leading her high school team to four state championship games, three of which ended in titles. An honor roll student, she was selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year as well. She attended the University of Kansas, where she majored in applied behavioral sciences.

Fans are celebrating Goodrich’s return on social media. One fan said, “She's awesome and reminds me a lot of Temeka Johnson!” and others proclaim it as “great news.”

Boucek has been giving each returning player high praise, and there’s no surprise as to why: the Storm is an incredible group of women. Hopefully this year they can work really well together and pull off a season that is just as incredible. Under the new changes, ESPN will be providing the team with much more coverage so maybe that will help encourage them, too.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia