Sami Whitcomb might see more playing time when the Seattle Storm play host to the Indiana Fever on Sunday at KeyArena in Seattle.

Whitcomb provided a boost on Friday night after Jewell Loyd, the league's leading scorer, was unable to complete the game against the New York Liberty with an ankle injury and reserve Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis played less than a minute after suffering a right knee bruise in the first quarter.

Storm coach Jenny Boucek had little to lose and Sami Whitcomb had everything to gain.

Late in the third quarter, with Seattle (3-1) trailing New York by 10 points, Boucek put the little-used guard, who had played just 10 minutes in the Storm's first three WNBA games of the season, into the game.

The move certainly paid off.

Whitcomb scored a team-high 22 points, all in the final 11 1/2 minutes, as Seattle rallied for an 87-81 victory.

Whitcomb made six 3-pointers and was 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.

"Nothing was really going right (for the team)," Whitcomb told The Seattle Times after the game. "Coming off the bench when we're down, it's less of a pressure situation. No one is really expecting much from me. So I just tried to make plays."

Whitcomb was a standout at the University of Washington but was cut by the Chicago Sky in training camp in 2010. She headed for Australia, where the 5-foot-10 guard became a star.

Whitcomb was a four-time All-Star and a three-time scoring champion and was named the MVP of the Grand Final in three consecutive seasons, helping the Rockingham Flames and Perth Lynx to titles.

"I've seen her do it in Australia," Boucek told The Times. "That's why she's here. I don't know if I've seen another player that can heat up the way she can.

"But she's done it consistently overseas and we know that's in her here."

Storm guard Sue Bird, a 15-year veteran who at age 36 is the league's oldest player, said she has never quite seen anything like Whitcomb's performance Friday.

"I've never seen that on a floor that I've been on. Ever," Bird told The Times. "And I've played with some pretty good people, too.

"Sami happened."

The Fever (2-2) are coming off a 93-90 road victory against defending champion Los Angeles.

Marissa Coleman scored 19 points, with a game-high five 3-pointers, and Candice Dupree added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Fever, who overcame a 14-point deficit to hand the Sparks their first loss of the season.

Dupree is averaging 14.8 points per game, leading four Indiana players in double-digit scoring.

This will be the second meeting between the Storm and Fever this season. Seattle won its home opener 87-82 over Indiana on May 14 as Loyd scored a season-high 27 points.