Chicago crushes Seattle in historic Storm loss 107-75

Seattle has now lost five of their last seven games since coming back from the Tokyo Olympics.

(Everett, WA) - Well that’s not something you see every day. In fact, Storm fans have never seen a loss quite like this before on Seattle’s homecourt. The 32-point defeat to the Chicago Sky on Sunday afternoon was the most lopsided game at home in Seattle Storm history. It was also Chicago’s largest margin of victory in franchise history.

“Sometimes in this league, you have one of these games where you just can't get in there. And, unfortunately for us, it happened to be today. We were not discouraged by the effort. We were intentional about certain things but we just couldn't get it over today. This has been a long stretch for us, but in this league, you gotta finish the game.” Coach Noelle Quinn said after the game.

She continued, “When we can’t get multiple stops in a row and our offensive effort isn’t being fluid and sharp… I think that’s what happened. Everyone was getting shots for Chicago. Candace was comfortable today in everything that she was doing as a playmaker and a shot-maker. I think we weren’t making them uncomfortable, and we weren’t capitalizing off of anything. I feel like they scored out of all of our turnovers. It is a stretch of not being able to string along stops and good offensive possessions.”

“If I know anything about myself, it is that I'm a resilient individual. And that's the message to our team, we have not lost a championship. This happens in our league and you guys already know in this league teams kind of go through this and, unfortunately, we're going through this right now, I've been told that we've had Olympics, we had the Commissioner’s Cup, we had a baby, we had a coaching change… A lot of things have happened to us, and in order to get through it, we have to be resilient. Adversity, reveals character, and I think, we have to make sure we're understanding that it's not the end of the world. Take it a day at a time, and get better. We’ve solidified that we are in the playoffs, but we won’t even think about that. We’ll think about how to get better every single day.”

Surprisingly, in a loss this bad, the story wasn’t about the Storm’s poor offensive production. Seattle shot better in this game than they did on Friday when they lost by just four points.

In this contest, it was Seattle’s defense that failed them. I have never seen a team pick apart the Storm’s defense the way the Chicago Sky did on Sunday. It was a masterclass in offensive execution. Whatever they wanted they got. The Sky were red hot from three-point range to start the game and that never wavered even in the final minutes of the game when Lexie Brown chucked up a three later in the shot clock and it fell through the net. In total, Chicago set a franchise record connecting on 15-22 (68%) shots from beyond the arc. But it wasn’t just their offensive firepower from deep. Their post players dominated down low as well in both rebounding and converting shots in the paint.

Candace Parker looked like the 2013 version of herself when she won the MVP award for the second time in her career. Parker scored a game-high 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Parker led six Sky players in double figures. Diamond DeShields (16 points) and Dana Evans (a career-high 14 points) were gigantic off the bench for Chicago. While not as dominant as Friday’s effort, Kahleah Copper still had a solid game with 13 points. Courtney Vandersloot had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists. Azurá Stevens rounded out the group with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Seattle’s “Big 3” combined for just 37 points. Breanna Stewart had a solid game leading the team with 19 points on a respectable 8-16 FG (50%) from the floor. She also added six rebounds and Seattle’s only two blocks of the game. Jewell Loyd managed just 10 points as her offense continues to struggle after being spectacular out of the gate after the Tokyo Olympics. Sue Bird had a solid game with eight points and seven assists on 50% shooting. Bird likely could have done more but played less than 24 minutes with the game out of hand by the start of the 4th quarter.

Jordin Canada, who was inserted into the starting lineup for this game, had her best game of the 2021 season scoring a season-high 17 points. Canada’s shot has rarely looked better as she connected on 6-9 FG including a rare three-pointer. Another shot would have been her second triple of the game but her toe was on the three-point line. Sadly, Canada was hurt late in this game when Kahleah Copper collided with her right knee near the baseline. Canada had to be helped off the court after staying down for quite some time. Coach Quinn said the team doctors will reevaluate her (likely with an X-Ray and MRI) in the coming days. Hopefully, the injury is not serious, and that she’ll be available for the playoffs.

“I thought Jordin played great today. I liked her energy and defensive presence. She was comfortable attacking, hit a couple of jumpers. It has to be by committee. I liked their spirit today and I liked their effort. We just needed to execute. But definitely, Jordin and what she showed today, and the effort are my positives today.” Quinn added.

The two-headed monster of Katie Lou Samuelson and Stephanie Talbot continues to struggle offensively in recent games. They combined for just two points total on 1-6 FG shooting.

With Canada starting this game, the Seattle bench was nearly nonexistent. Because of the lopsided score, Coach Noelle Quinn played all 12 players on her team. The seven reserves scored a total of 16 points. They were outscored by Chicago’s bench 39-16 which was a huge difference in this game.

Chicago shot 56% (41-73) and 68% (15-22) from three compared to Seattle who shot 45% (29-64) and 29% (5-17) from beyond the arc. The Sky dominated the glass outrebounding the Storm 36-22 including a 10-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. Chicago had a slight edge in assists (26-22). Both teams took care of the basketball with Seattle committing 12 turnovers and Chicago just 10.

Game Breakdown

Chicago raced out to a 13-5 lead after Courtney Vandersloot hit two three-pointers and Candace Parker added a third. Kahleah Copper hit another three to give the Sky a 16-8 lead early. Chicago started the game connecting on six of their first seven shots including 4-4 from beyond the arc.

Parker and Vandersloot did most of the first quarter damage scoring 19 points total. Vandersloot’s hot shooting from outside and Parker’s ability to rebound caused problems for the Storm.

The Sky started the game 7-7 from the three-point line. Their white-hot shooting was the big difference-maker in the first quarter. Seattle was fortunate to be down only eight points. The way Chicago was shooting the ball you expected them to be up about 15 (eventually they would be).

Diamond DeShields picked off a pass and raced down the quarter to lay it up at the buzzer of the first quarter. Chicago led 31-23 after one.

A layup to start the second quarter gave Chicago their first double-digit lead at 33-23. Dana Evans then had two successful drives to the basket, one for a layup and the other a pair of free throws, and the Sky took a commanding 12-point lead forcing Coach Noelle Quinn to call timeout.

Even when Seattle was playing good defense and getting ball deflections, the loose ball would wind up in Chicago’s hands. Stefanie Dolson recovered the ball and nailed a three-point basket. Mere seconds later, Dana Evans hit another triple. It was Chicago’s 9th of the first half. They were connecting on 75% of their three-point shots. Once again, 40% from beyond the arc is considered great. 75% is so incredible you can’t do anything but shake your head in disbelief and congratulate the other team.

Candace Parker raced down the court with the ball beating Mercedes Russell to the rim, drawing the foul, and converting the layup. Parker and her entire team let out a primal scream as everything was going Chicago’s way in the first half. Chicago led by 19 points at 52-33. The Sky led the Storm 63-41 at the midway point.

Ultimately, it was Seattle’s inability to defend Chicago that caused the largest deficit they faced all season long. The Storm simply couldn’t stop Chicago. The Sky shot 55% (23-42) and 67% (10-15) from the three-point range. Seattle wasn’t terrible on offense connecting on 49% (16-33) but did make just 30% (3-10) from beyond the arc.

Chicago also nearly doubled up Seattle on rebounds 20-12. While Seattle had twice as many turnovers (8-4) through two quarters.

Parker led Chicago with 19 points. Courtney Vandersloot added 11 more. Three more players each scored seven points including Kahleah Copper, Dana Evans, and Diamond DeShields.

Seattle was led by Breanna Stewart who scored 12 points and nine points from Jordin Canada.

The third quarter was Seattle’s best as far as defense. They were still outscored 18-17 in the period but it was the only quarter where they held Chicago under 25 points. Breanna Stewart and Jordin Canada did all the work for Seattle scoring 13 of the team’s 17 points in the third. Chicago led 81-58 after three quarters of play.

Jewell Loyd had her best quarter in the 4th scoring five of her ten points in the final period. Kennedy Burke also added five points as she saw extended minutes in the blowout loss.

Unfortunately, the worst possible thing that can happen in a blowout is a player getting injured. There was a nasty collision on the baseline between Kahleah Copper and Jordin Canada with about seven minutes left in the ballgame. Canada was clutching her knee and slapped the court multiple times in frustration and pain. Canada needed help limping off the court. Hopefully, it’s more a bone bruise and not something that will keep her out the rest of the season.

It was nice to see Karlie and Katie Lou Samuelson check into the game together late in the fourth quarter. Karlie immediately knocked down a jumper with an assist from her younger sister. Karlie then found Epiphanny Prince for a three on the next possession. The older Samuelson sister made a small but positive impact on this game.

“It feels good to have the first shot go in with a new team for sure. The way this game went, it was a difficult game. I’m glad that shot went in. As a team, I would like to get a win with this team and I think it’ll be nice to help us and get us out of this slump.” Karlie Samuelson said after the game.

Seattle was outscored 26-17 in the 4th quarter losing the game 107-75.

Additional Analysis

Losing due to inexperience…?

On Saturday in between these two losses from Chicago, I spoke to Coach Noelle Quinn about the struggles the team is going through. And how much that has to do with the lack of veteran experience on this team. After losing, players like Alysha Clark, Natasha Howard, Crystal Langhorne, etc. Seattle’s roster has gotten considerably younger in 2021. Jewell Loyd is now the team’s third-most experienced player on the entire team!

“I think so. You know, you think about what championship seasons bring, it’s just the experience of going through the day-to-day whatever it may be - practices, tough games, being in a series - whatever it is you learn a lot. Whether you’re in year one or two or year five or six, there’s something to say about having gone through those experiences.

Now we have players that haven’t been through those experiences. It is important to have veterans on your team especially during moments of adversity, what we’re experiencing right now because they can point to times that they’ve been through it. They can relate on this is how we weather the storm. This is what we can do to stay the course. There’s something about having veterans and having that experience within what we’ve already done in this organization. To some extent, the knowledge I have as a player can relay over to them as well. It’s important to have checks and balances in that locker room to speak on those experiences on what it takes to overcome or what it takes to win in this league.” Quinn told me.

Bad Game or Bad matchup?

When you lose a game by 32 points you often chalk it up to just having a bad game. The problem is that Seattle has now lost all three games to the Chicago Sky this season. With each loss being more significant than the last. It all culminated in a historic defeat for Seattle on Sunday.

Now the question is whether or not this was just one really bad game or really one exceptional game by Chicago. Or do the Sky have Seattle’s number? Chicago has size, length, athleticism, and shooters that cause Seattle a lot of problems.

Does James Wade have Seattle figured out? And how likely is it that these two teams will see each other again in the playoffs?

To answer the first question, I think Chicago did have Seattle figured out. They saw some things on film that allowed themselves to counter or take advantage of Seattle’s defense on several occasions on Sunday. During certain rotations, Candace Parker was able to slip to the rim for easy uncontested baskets.

Their players also create a lot of mismatches. Players like Kahleah Copper and Diamond DeShields are too quick for Sue Bird or Stephanie Talbot to stay in front of.

That’s why Coach Quinn tried to counter with a three-guard lineup inserting Jordin Canada into the starting lineup with Bird and Loyd. However, that then meant Seattle was considerably undersized. Candace Parker and Azurá Stevens dominated on the glass early and combined for 18 rebounds total.

The mismatches with the guards and post players are certainly of concern for Seattle if these two squads see each other again in the postseason. The Sky likely won’t shoot 70% from three again but there are a lot of ways their offense can be effective against Seattle. The Storm will need to rebound significantly better and stay disciplined against their three-point shooters to contest those shots.

“They just played off each other really well and we just had a lot of miscommunication. That’s how they got their lead. There were some times where we kind of put our head down and that didn’t really help us. We have to remind ourselves to keep our heads up no matter what the score says. If you’re on the bench, give some sort of energy. I try to do that, and also when I’m on the court I try to bring a defensive spark. I try to do my best whether I’m on the bench or on the court.” Kennedy Burke said after the game.

While we still have three weeks to determine how the regular season will play out, we do know a couple of things. The Storm have already clinched a playoff spot and will finish somewhere between 1st and 6th place with the most likely being the 3rd or 4th seed. Chicago has not clinched a playoff spot yet but should within their next couple of games. The Sky are currently the 6th seed and may have a hard time moving further up. Chicago (14-12) is currently behind the 5th seed Phoenix Mercury (15-10) and the 4th seed Minnesota Lynx (15-9). Phoenix won the season series against Chicago, so the Sky will have to finish a complete game ahead of the Mercury to pass them. They split the season series (1-1) with Minnesota but are currently three games back in the loss column from the Lynx (two games total) in the standings.

If Chicago finishes 6th overall they are likely to face one of the following teams: Dallas Wings, New York Liberty, or Washington Mystics - in a single-elimination game.

If Seattle finishes 3rd and the Sky finish 6th, as long as Chicago makes it out of the first round they would travel to Seattle for a single-elimination game against the Storm in the second round of the playoffs. One that you would have to believe would favor Chicago.

Another scenario where these two teams would meet would be if Seattle’s slump continues the rest of the season and they fall to the 4th seed. And if Chicago were to win enough of their final six games to move up to the 5th overall seed. These two teams would once again match up in the second round of the playoffs assuming Chicago as the 5th seed was able to beat the 8th seed in the first round.

Of course, even if the two teams finish 3rd and 6th overall, Seattle could always end up playing the 8th seed if that team managed to upset the 5th seed.

There are a lot of scenarios where Seattle and Chicago could see each other in the postseason and if that happens, the Storm will have to figure a way to stop the Sky’s high-powered offense.

Jersey Count

The Storm were back in their Rebel Black jerseys for this game. I love this look and this uniform. I just don’t love the results on the court. With another loss in their black uniforms, the Storm are barely above .500 when wearing these. They fall to 5-4 on the season in their Rebel Blacks.

Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 5-4
Explorer: 5-2
Heroine: 8-4
Overall Record: 18-10

Up Next

Fortunately, Seattle gets a few days off to rest and reevaluate. The team needs to get their heads on right and fix the mistakes they’ve been making. The time off and light schedule the rest of the way (4 games in 3 weeks) should help this team. At this point, they’re playing to retain a Top 4 seed which would grant them a first-round bye and where they’d only need to play in one single-elimination playoff game.

Their next game is Thursday, September 2nd at home against the New York Liberty at 7:00 PM. The game will air online via Amazon Prime Video and should air locally on JOE TV.

It is the only time the Liberty plays in Seattle this season. Oregon Duck fans will be excited to see Sabrina Ionescu. And Storm fans will be happy to see Natasha Howard and (hopefully) Sami Whitcomb. Whitcomb injured her ankle against the LA Sparks on August 22nd. The team announced she would likely be out 10-14 days. This game takes place 11 days after her injury.

Editor’s Note: Thank you for your support! If you know any Storm fans that aren’t currently aware of my coverage through Substack and Twitter (@WNBAStormChaser), please let them know. Word of mouth can be super helpful and is greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to drop comments in the section below. If there’s any part of the coverage you really enjoyed let me know. If you have questions on something, I’ll do my best to track down the answer and ask during media availability. Photo Credits to Neil Enns/Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography.