Alarie adapting to unique rookie season
Alarie wears No. 32 on Dallas in honor of it being her father’s number when he played for the Blue Devils.
Her parents are a big source of support for the Princeton University graduate. During the lockdown, Alarie said each member of the family would take turns cooking dinner.
Alarie said that one of the biggest challenges of being in the bubble is the disconnect of being away from her family.
“I’m a person who has good relationships with my family and not having that direct contact with them is tough because I have a harder time staying connected with people (and) I don’t like texting … I think for me, trying to maintain all my relationships while I’m away has something I never really planned on being a reality for me,” Alarie said.
She’ll reach out to her parents before every game on FaceTime for inspiration and to calm down her nerves. Her mom is a big advocate of positive visualization and that’s something Alarie has done since her middle school days.
“I would literally sit in the car and watch myself hit 3s and block shots, win the tip and do things on defense and try to visualize all the good things I could do in a game,” Alarie said. “I would try and do that before every game. I think it makes me feel more confident going in.”
Even though she had been living at home for the last few months, the one thing she could not leave Maryland without was her camera. Alarie mentioned how when she was younger she would watch “A Day in the Life” videos of a professional athlete — now she decided to make one herself.
“I was kind of looking around for WNBA videos, like seeing what a day in the life is like of a pro athlete and things like that,” Alarie said. “There wasn’t a lot out there honestly, so I was like ‘This is perfect because I’m going to be in this really unique bubble situation.’ I always think there’s more room for sharing women’s stories. There’s just not a lot of content out there so I think it’s really cool I can make videos and share them with people.”
When she eventually joined the team in Florida and the season began, the three-time Ivy League Player of the Year immediately made an impact even though she puts mounting pressure on herself to be the best. Alarie’s teammates along with head coach Brian Agler rave about her potential.
“There’s three things that really impress me about Bella,” Agler said prior to Dallas’s win over Indiana on July 31. “She’s a quality individual — that’s No. 1. No. 2, I like her length and her mobility and her athleticism. She still doesn’t quite understand she’s 6-6. She’s still thinking she’s 6-1 or 6-2 … she can dunk if she really put her mind to it.”
Alarie said she tends to be a bit of an overthinker and sometimes does not even realize she is 6-foot5. Realizing she is in the league for a reason and her potential is just something she will grow in to.
“I think that’s always been my case I don’t always realize what I can do out there, how good I can be,” Alarie said. “I’ve always had someone kind of push me out of my comfort zone and be comfortable being the go-to player at Princeton and I know I’ll continue to do that in the league.”
In Dallas’ second game against New York, Alarie did not play many minutes but made an impact in a unique way. She wore shoes with the face and name of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT who was shot and killed while asleep in her apartment by members of the Louisville Police in March.
“I just want to keep using my platform for positive change for social justice issues and all of that,” Alarie said. “The shoes are just one thing, but I’m hoping that I can continue to be a part of this movement and I know our league is really involved, obviously, this season is dedicated to saying her name, fighting for social justice and racial equality and everything so I was glad that Under Armour gave me that opportunity to share that message on a pair of shoes.”
Players wear a black stripe on the back of their jerseys with Taylor’s name on it honoring her memory.
Alarie played the most minutes of her young WNBA career against the Indiana Fever and had a significant role in the Wings’ comeback efforts after being down 14 points. She finished the game with four points, four rebounds, and a pair of steals and blocks.
“Throughout training camp, we’ve already been like, ‘Wow she’s going to be really dominant in a couple of years.’,” said No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft Satou Sabally. “She works hard in practice all the time. She has super long arms so she gets rebounds where people can’t. … She’s a dangerous player, she’s going to be an All-Star for sure.”
Going through the unique process of being a rookie in a pandemic has taught Alarie a lot about herself and shown her the differences between playing at Princeton and in the pros.
“I can be really adaptable and I need to remain as coachable as possible,” Alarie said. “If I want to stay ready and be an impact player, I have to be ready at any given moment. … just in these few weeks I’m soaking it all in and I’ve grown in this short amount of time. I just can’t wait to see what the future holds for me and this team.”