Seattle Storm's Shyra Ely reunited with coach

The biggest smile seen at the introduction of Brian Agler as Storm coach didn't come from Agler himself.

Standing behind the horde of media that January afternoon was a giddy Shyra Ely, suddenly itching for training camp to begin.

Ely, a 6-foot-2 forward, knew Agler because she was drafted by his former San Antonio Silver Stars in 2005. And when she suffered a foot injury, Agler, then an assistant coach, was the one pushing Ely through her rehabilitation.

Reunited in Seattle, Agler is still pushing Ely.

The Storm hopes Ely develops into one of the team's stronger reserves, similar to the fleet the Silver Stars are growing in Texas.

Tonight, San Antonio plays Seattle at KeyArena. The keen basketball eye will see similarities between the teams because Agler is credited with formulating the Silver Stars' offense and bringing it to the Storm.

But the personnel is different, such as Ely, a former power forward at Tennessee who is playing some small forward along with her natural position in Seattle.

The Storm (3-1) has a better start than the Silver Stars (2-1). But San Antonio is the only team to sweep Seattle in four games in 2007, going on to reach the Western Conference finals. And the Silver Stars kept the dominance going, defeating the Storm 87-72 on Saturday.

"You can tell they've been playing together; this is their second year," guard Sue Bird said after the loss. "They're patient. That comes with them being comfortable with each other."

The Storm spent the past week working to develop a rhythm on the court. Agler stressed defense, noting Seattle was out-rebounded 32-25 in the loss to San Antonio.

Soaking up every word was Ely. She played a short stint in Poland before returning for her second season in Seattle, dropping weight to become more agile at Agler's request.

At practice, Ely appears to be one of Agler's favorite targets. It's an odd pairing. Ely says yelling was never part of her upbringing.

"We just didn't raise our voices, we're a real calm family," Ely said. "When Pat [Summitt] used to yell at me, I'd shut down. But I've grown since then. It's a lot easier to respond to him when he does yell.

"My thing is I feel like I need to worry when he's not getting on me. I'm able to take the message and live in the moment — that's one of our mottoes."

Storm teammate Sheryl Swoopes pegged Ely as the star of training camp.

Ely, a native of Indianapolis, has averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.8 minutes off the bench in four games. She's shooting 64.3 percent from the field and helps float the front line while two-time MVP Lauren Jackson rests or works to create space inside for Jackson.

"In San Antonio, she was slotted on the wing, but she's naturally one of those between-type players," Agler said. Here "we have her swinging back and forth."

There's one thing both would like tonight.

"Since I've been in Seattle I haven't beat them, so I'd just really like to beat them," Ely said. The Storm last defeated the Silver Stars on June 23, 2006, at KeyArena.

"It's been [six losses] in a row," she said. "We just need to get one. I don't know if it's mental, but they just have our number. And it's about time we beat them."

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067