Gorham’s Mackenzie Holmes began her second season in the WNBA with the Seattle Storm on Friday night when she and her teammates hosted the Golden State Valkyries.
She will return to New England on Sunday for a 1 p.m. game against the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Holmes saw limited playing time with the Storm last season, appearing in 10 regular season games and averaging 5.8 minutes per game. She averaged a point and a rebound per game.
The 6-foot-3-inch former Indiana University two-time All-American went to Australia in the off-season and had a very productive campaign with the Geelong Venom, where she was second in the league in scoring with a 21.8 points-per-game average and was third in rebounding at 9.61 rebounds per game.
She also averaged 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocked shots.
In addition, the 25-year-old Holmes played four playoff games for the Henan Phoenix in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association, where she averaged 8.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in 15 minutes of playing time per game.
The 2019 Maine schoolgirl Gatorade Player of the Year and four-time Bangor Daily News All-Maine Schoolgirl Basketball Team selection had a solid performance in her last preseason game for the Storm on April 29, producing eight points, seven rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot in 21 minutes of a 91-81 victory over the first-year Portland Fire.
She was a third round draft pick of the Storm and the 26th overall selection in 2024. But she missed the 2024-25 campaign due to knee surgery.
Holmes graduated from Indiana as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,530 points in 147 games. She set school records for field goals made (1,043), field goal percentage (63.9) and games won (123).
She was chosen to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team four times and was the league leader in blocked shots three times.
She was the school’s first Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and first First Team All-American. She led the conference in field goal percentage her last two seasons.
She guided the Hoosiers to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances including a Sweet Sixteen berth in her senior year when she averaged 19.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per contest.
During her high school career, she led Gorham to two state Class AA championships.