Dirty work no bother for former prom queen

Watch her play and it's hard to imagine.

Storm forward Camille Little, a high-school prom queen?

The undersized post player is scrappy on the basketball court, grabbing rebounds and setting screens for teammates. She doesn't hesitate to dive on the floor. Normally expressionless, she'll give a sharp look of anger when pushed.

Meet the new-millennium preppy.

"She does the dirty work," Storm guard Sue Bird said of Little. "Ever since last year when she first got on the team, our team has dramatically changed for the better. She kind of sparked us last year, and she's very consistent at what she does in terms of that dirty work. You need people like that."

With the looming departure last year of two-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson, who would leave to play in the Olympics, Storm coach Brian Agler traded a 2009 second-round draft pick to acquire Little from Atlanta in June 2008.

Little sat on the bench in Los Angeles as the Sparks destroyed the Storm 76-62. But the former North Carolina player soon leapt into the lineup, and Bird credits the 6-foot-2 forward for buoying last season's franchise-record seven-game win streak. Little averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 13 games as a starter.

Expected to begin this season as a reserve, Little again is in the starting lineup and averaging 5.4 boards. In a 69-67 win over the Sparks on Friday, she fouled out but contributed five points, six rebounds, two blocks and two assists.

Agler may change his rotations for the Storm's rematch with the Sparks today in Los Angeles. Little will still be needed against the Sparks' dominant front line.

In Friday's victory, she helped hound forwards DeLisha Milton-Jones and Tina Thompson. But Storm center Janell Burse could get more minutes against the Sparks' interior group as the Western Conference-leading Storm (6-2) attempts to improve its 3-2 road record.

"Camille is a great competitor," Agler said. "She's still a young player, but [she has] historically done pretty good jobs on Tina. Tina hit some shots [Friday], but Camille didn't give up and kept [her] concentration."

Little averaged 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds to lead North Carolina to the Final Four in her senior season. She was drafted in 2007 by San Antonio and traded in April 2008 to the expansion Atlanta Dream, where her talents seemingly were wasted.

"Whatever I can do to help the team, it doesn't matter," Little said. "Somebody has to do it. ... I just have a knack and try to get there [for rebounds or steals]. It's not anything extra where somebody says, 'You have to do the dirty work.' It's just something I just happen to be doing."

Statistics don't measure her full impact, but it doesn't go unnoticed. At least not by teammates.

"I really enjoy playing with her," Bird said. "She's valuable because of her versatility on the defensive end and she's so quick in her ability to jump with such quickness. She just brings so much to our team."

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com