Seattle Storm forward Dominique Malonga scored a team-high 21 points for France in a 97-79 loss to the USA in the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup final on Sunday, Sept. 13, in Berlin.

The World Cup came down to the clear-cut top-2 teams, but France was still overall outclassed by Team USA. However, as they had many times during the nine-day tournament, Malonga and former Storm star Gabby Williams carried France.

Malonga finished with 21 points (8 of 12 FG), six rebounds and one steal in the loss. Williams totaled 20 points, three rebounds, seven assists and three steals. 

Receiving their second dose of bad news in as many days, the Seattle Storm will be without forward Katie Lou Samuelson for the final four games of the WNBA season after she underwent arthroscopic surgery on her left knee, the team announced on Friday, Sept. 11.

Samuelson, who missed the entire 2025 season with a torn ACL, has sporadically missed time at various points throughout the 2026 season. She has still managed to play in 32 games (one start) and has averaged 4.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.8 steals in 15.3 minutes per game.

The two major injuries appear unrelated, as Samuelson tore her right ACL last season. It’s unclear exactly when Samuelson suffered the current injury, but either she or the Storm decided to have her get surgery during the FIBA break instead of at the end of the WNBA season.

Seattle Storm center Ezi Magbegor tore her ACL during Australia’s quarterfinal qualifying game against Italy in the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup on Wednesday, the Storm announced. She will miss the rest of the WNBA season.

Magbegor played just four minutes in Australia’s 82-80 victory before suffering the injury. It’s the third time this calendar year that Magbegor has suffered an injury that has forced her off the court.

Two of the four Seattle Storm players competing in the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup have qualified for the quarterfinals, and there’s a good chance all four will make it.

Dominique Malonga (France) and Awa Fam (Spain) each finished first with their teams in group play, advancing them directly to the top 8. Ezi Magbegor and Jade Melbourne (Australia) still have to win one more game in a quarterfinal qualifier against Italy.

The WNBA is currently on a late-season break for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, but when the Seattle Storm return to play on Thursday, Sept. 17, they will only have four games remaining in the season.

At this point in the season, the seven teams included in the WNBA Draft Lottery have already been decided. The league’s top-8 teams heading to the playoffs are already determined.

The Storm will be joined by the Connecticut Sun, Toronto Tempo, Phoenix Mercury, Los Angeles Sparks, Chicago Sky and Portland Fire — all of whom are eliminated from postseason contention. The Washington Mystics hold the Sky’s first-round pick, however, and benefit from the more games Chicago loses.

Even though they have the worst record in the league this season, the Storm are essentially stuck with the fourth-highest odds for the No. 1 overall pick. To understand why, it’s important to understand how the WNBA conducts its draft lottery.

The Seattle Storm have four players competing in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup that begins on Friday, Sept. 4, in Berlin. 

Dominique Malonga (France), Awa Fam (Spain), Ezi Magbegor (Australia) and Jade Melbourne (Australia) will all be playing for their home countries in the nine-day, 16-team tournament, which has all WNBA teams taking a short break from the season near its end.

Fam was the only Storm player who had her contract temporarily suspended by the franchise, as she reported to the Spain national team early. That forced her to miss Seattle’s final game before the FIBA break on Sunday, Aug. 30 — a 90-74 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

Malonga, Magbegor and Melbourne all played right up to the break. 

The World Cup has four groups, each with four teams. Each team will play three games in the group phase, one each against the other teams in their group. 

The short-handed Seattle Storm started and finished poorly en route to a 90-74 blowout loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, Aug. 30, at Climate Pledge Arena.

Seattle (8-32), which is missing Awa Fam due to international play and Natisha Hiedeman due to injury, couldn’t get much going for most of the game. Flau’jae Johnson led the Storm with 19 points, while Dominique Malonga totaled 17 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks.

Zia Cooke, though she did most of her damage in the first half, still finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three steals.

Los Angeles (15-25) was led by 23 points and 12 rebounds from former Storm star Nneka Ogwumike. Rae Burrell totaled 22 points, four rebounds and three assists, and the Sparks won their second-straight game for the first time since early July.

On the surface, the Seattle Storm don’t have much left to play for this season. They have only won eight games and have long been eliminated from playoff contention. But that’s not how the team is approaching its final five games.

“We know that we can either end the season and look at ourselves like, ‘Wow, we didn't get better at nothing,’ or we can end the season and be like, ‘Look at this growth that we had, look at the things that we overcame,’” Storm rookie guard Flau’jae Johnson said after the team’s 90-78 win over the Toronto Tempo on Aug. 26.

“We got that ‘it’s still 0-0’ mentality, and we’re going to continue to get better.”

Flau’jae Johnson, Dominique Malonga and Jade Melbourne combined for 54 points, and the Seattle Storm finally clinched a close game with a 90-78 victory over the Toronto Tempo on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at Climate Pledge Arena.

Seattle (8-31) snapped a three-game losing streak, won its second game in the last five, and still has a chance to reach double-digit wins by the end of the season. Toronto (11-27) has now lost 14 of its last 15 games and dropped its first against the Storm all season.

Melbourne turned in a solid game from the point guard spot with 16 points, six rebounds, seven assists and one steal. Johnson had a team-high 20 points, and Malonga added 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals.