By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – This was not the homecoming Milena Flores wanted.
The 1996 Snohomish High School graduate was back in the Puget Sound on Thursday night, but she barely had enough time to get together with friends and family. To make matters worse, an ankle injury forced her to watch the Miami Sol-Seattle Storm game from the sidelines.
“It’s kind of strange,” said Flores, a second-year WNBA guard who had never in her life missed a game due to injury before this season. “I love being out there and supporting my teammates. It’s just that it’s kind of a different feeling.”
Flores is still loving life in the WNBA, even if her second season has gotten off to a rocky start. The 23-year-old Stanford product suffered a sprained ankle at training camp and is currently on the injured list, which meant she had to watch Thursday night’s 70-57 Sol victory from the bench. Having spent three games on the I.L., Flores is now eligible to be activated whenever her ankle is healed.
“It’s getting better,” Flores said. “I still have some soreness and pain, and that kind of limits what I do in practice. I’m going to get a lot of treatment, I’m going to be aggressive and give it the best therapy I can, and hopefully I’ll be ready soon.”
Before the injury, Flores was in a training camp battle with rookie Marla Brumfield for the backup point guard spot behind starter Debbie Black. The injury has kept Flores sidelined while Brumfield played a total of eight minutes in the Sol’s first two games.
“(Flores) knows our system well because she has a year experience with it,” Miami coach Ron Rothstein said. “Like a lot of rookies, she struggled at times last season, but she had some really good moments. She seems to have picked up where she left off last year.”
Last season, Flores played in all 32 games, averaging 3.5 points and 1.5 assists.
“The only thing that really concerned me about Milena was that she wasn’t really shooting well,” Rothstein said. “Taking care of the ball, her assist-to-turnover ratio, running the offense, playing defense, she was solid. I think she’s made progress.”
Flores had plans to get together with her family for a late dinner in Seattle on Thursday night, but then she has to head back on the road today.
“I wish I would have been able to go home and have a home-cooked meal,” Flores said, “because I can’t cook. But you do what you can. The season’s three months long, I’m doing what I love, so I can’t complain.”
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