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Storm starter Tanisha Wright departed after her team's loss on Saturday to be with family after the passing of her mother. According to Storm coach Brian Agler, Wright was notified of the passing Friday and felt she needed to compete with her teammates in Saturday's 92-63 loss to Atlanta at KeyArena.

Wright played 27 minutes, scoring nine points on 3 for 5 shooting from the field. She also had four turnovers and two assists. She's not expected to return to Seattle until Saturday, G Katie Smith replacing Wright in the starting lineup on Tuesday against Phoenix.

"All of us really feel for her (Tanisha) and support her and are here for her," Agler said. "No one can imagine, unless you've gone through that, so we'll welcome her back when it's time for her to come back. Until then, we'll be here for support."

Wright was raised by her grandmother in Pennsylvania, leaving her mother in their native Brooklyn, NY at a young age. According to Agler, Wright will assume a lot of family responsibility in her mother's absence.

The Storm is a close-knit group, but didn't hold a special meeting to regroup after hearing about Wright's family. They prepared as planned for the Mercury, knowing wins are needed for postseason seedings.

Seattle (13-11) is a half-game behind Phoenix (13-10) in the Western Conference, defeating the Mercury in the past nine meetings.

"The season is not going to wait on us," Agler said. "Everybody understands we want to support Tanisha in this way but we have to find ways to rebound. People talked about our team being resilient last year, well this is a true testament to what we have to do right now."

*PHOTO CREDIT: Tanisha Wright courtesy of the WNBA

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