Seattle's rebounding woes haunt them in 78-74 loss to Chicago

Seattle gave Chicago too many opportunities to win the game.

(Chicago, Illinois) - This wasn’t a MUST-WIN game but it certainly would have helped the Storm improve their playoff seeding position. Seattle nearly played well enough to win but ran into a common problem they’ve had throughout this season. The inability to secure defensive rebounds gave the Chicago Sky too many opportunities to win the game. And with a team as talented as the Sky, that’s just asking for trouble. Ultimately, Seattle fell just short losing to Chicago 78-74.

The loss drops Seattle back down to the 4th overall seed and three full games behind the Sky with 10 games remaining. Not an insurmountable deficit but the Storm will have to be nearly flawless the rest of the way if they want to claim the #1 spot.

With that said, I don’t believe Seattle is too worried about that. Obviously, they want to finish as close to the top of the standings as possible but considering the top two teams no longer get automatic double-byes to the Semi-Finals - those seeds don’t matter quite as much this season.

“Chicago’s tough in all facets of their game. I thought we started off the game well but they stayed poised and made a run. With everything still, it was a couple of possessions game down the stretch. All-in-all, I thought we defended well enough to win. Against a team that’s high-powered like Chicago’s scoring, holding them to 78 is very good. Good things to take out of this game but also we have to continue to build and improve.” Coach Noelle Quinn said in her opening statement after the game.

Seattle had just three players reach double-digit scoring as the Sky’s defense clamped down on them. Breanna Stewart led the way with 24 points. Jewell Loyd added 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Tina Charles contributed 11 points off the bench and a team-high six rebounds. It was nice to see Sue be a little more aggressive offensively as she finished with nine points after scoring zero in the last game against Indiana.

Ezi Magbegor and Gabby Williams did not have a big enough impact offensively. Magbegor had just four points and Williams only had three. Outside of Tina Charles, the bench scored just five points total from Stephanie Talbot and Briann January.

I asked Coach Quinn if this game can still help them (despite the loss) prepare for a potential playoff matchup down the road.

“I think so. Obviously, not playing with Sloot is a different beast. But knowing that Chicago is the standard. They won the championship last year and they’re in first place right now for a reason. To see how we stand up and compete/matchup with them, it’s good to see right now because there are a lot of implications for the postseason. We still have a way to improve.” Quinn told me.

I also spoke with Tina Charles about this to get her feedback.

“We definitely had opportunities to win the game. That’s something that Sue was harping on after the game and letting us know, same with Noey. We gave a few possessions away. Setting hard screens, making the extra pass, all the little details that we have to take in moving forward.” Charles answered.

The Chicago Sky

Four Sky players scored in double figures and the team was led by Allie Quigley who had 18 points on 6-10 FG shooting including 3-5 from beyond the arc. Emma Meesseman had a major impact (more on that later) and had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kahleah Copper was solid with 11 points and eight rebounds and Candace Parker put up nearly identical numbers with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Chicago was better in most statistical categories. They were +10 in rebounding. They shot the ball considerably better at 49% (32-66 FG) while holding the Storm to 42% (29-69 FG). The Sky had a 20-16 edge in assists and a 44-36 advantage with points in the paint.

Game Breakdown

Breanna Stewart got the scoring started with a pull-up three-pointer. Jewell Loyd was able to snag an offensive rebound and knocked down a mid-range jumper. The defense held and Ezi drove past Candace Parker for two. They led 7-0 quickly and Chicago Coach James Wade called timeout.

Emma Meesseman was the first player to get on the board for Chicago with a nice jumper. But Seattle would score another five straight points to lead by double digits 12-2. For a brief moment, it looked like the Storm were well on their way to making a massive statement to the rest of the league.

Chicago finally made their rally thanks to multiple offensive rebounds that allowed them to convert easy baskets. They cut Seattle’s lead to just six at 14-8 which forced Coach Noelle Quinn to call her own timeout. The Sky’s run didn’t end there as Dana Evans hit a three and then Kahleah Copper made a nice drive to the rim. In total, the Sky would go on a 13-0 run after trailing 14-4.

Loyd whipped a bullet pass to Stephanie Talbot who cut backdoor and was able to convert a reverse layup to tie the game at 19-19 at the end of the first quarter. Emma Meesseman led all scorers with six points in the opening frame and Loyd led the Storm with four.

The Sky scored the first five points of the 2nd quarter and then added four more to cap off a 9-2 run before Coach Noelle Quinn called another timeout. Azura Stevens got deep post position for an easy layup. Allie Quigley hit a three. Rebekah Gardner got another layup and Dana Evans hit a jumper to put Chicago up seven at 28-21.

Seattle made a short run with Breanna Stewart converting an AND1 in the paint against Meesseman and then found Jewell on a beautiful bounce pass as Loyd was cutting to the rim. That brought the deficit down to four points at 30-26. But then Quigley got open for another three-ball and you can’t leave her open because she’ll make you pay every time.

Loyd continued to heat up knocking down back-to-back jumpers. One was off a curl cut and the other from a Sue Bird offensive rebound tip that led to Loyd hitting a triple from the top of the perimeter.

The Storm really struggled in the 2nd quarter scoring just 12 points total; Jewell has seven of those. Every other quarter was dead-even but it was that second period where the Sky were able to create some separation. It was a bit of a defensive battle as Chicago also scored their lowest point total of any quarter (16). But they shot the ball considerably better than Seattle 50% compared to 31%.

At the midway point, Chicago led 35-31. Allie Quigley led the Sky with 10 points. Jewell Loyd led the Storm with 11 points through two quarters.

Candace Parker started the 2nd half draining a nice step-back jumper. Stewart finally got on a bit of a roll with a layup and then a corner three. Parker got another layup but then Bird hit her own shot from beyond the arc to tie the game at 39-39.

After that, Chicago would go on a 7-0 run with Meesseman and Parker each getting a basket and Quigley getting three free throws. Tina Charles subbed in and knocked down a three-ball from the left corner. Charles then got the defensive rebound and drove the entire length of the court and scored again in the paint.

Gardner and Bird exchanged baskets. Stevens and Copper also scored for Chicago.

Charles hit a shot in the final seconds to cut the lead back down to four points. It was her 8th and 9th points of the third quarter. As both teams entered the final period Chicago led 56-52.

Chicago got after Seattle right away in the fourth outscoring the Storm 11-5 through the first four minutes. Meesseman really stood out during this run, scoring four points and making a beautiful pass to Quigley who drilled another three.

Things looked bleak as Chicago led by 10 points (their largest lead of the game) at 67-57 with only a little over half the quarter left to play. But Seattle wasn’t done quite yet. Breanna Stewart forced her way inside to convert an AND1. Then hit another triple with an assist from Bird to cut the lead to six at 69-63.

Loyd converted an AND1 layup after attacking Quigley down in the low post. Stewie followed that up with another layup to cut the Sky’s 10-point lead down to just two points at 74-72 with 2:11 left in the game.

Seattle then forced another shot-clock violation and Gabby Williams had two attempts at a layup but missed both shots. That would have tied the game up with about 90 seconds to play had she converted. On the very next possession, Emma Meesseman went baseline and blew past Magbegor and used the basket to shield herself away from the defender, and reversed the layup up and in.

With exactly one minute left and the Storm trailing by four points, Magbegor threw the ball out of bounds on a miscommunication with her teammate. At that point, all Chicago had to do was take care of the basketball and make their free throws and they did enough to hang on to a 78-74 victory over the Storm.

Additional Analysis

Rebounding Woes

It’s no surprise that without Mercedes Russell regularly available this season that the team has struggled with their rebounding. Prior to the addition of Tina Charles, the team was 11th (of 12) in Rebounding with 32.1 RPG (between May 6th and June 28th).

Since Charles arrived in Seattle the team’s rebounding certainly has improved. Leading up to Wednesday’s game the Storm were averaging 37.2 RPG (June 29th to July 19th), that’s good for the 5th best in the league. A noticeable improvement from the start of the season.

Against Chicago, the Sky were just one step ahead of Seattle. Even when the Storm got critical defensive stops more often than not Chicago’s players found a way to snag the offensive rebound or quickly force a turnover against Seattle.

“Rebounding is huge. If we want to play at an elite level. Championship caliber teams, they rebound at a high clip. And they rebound efficiently.” Quinn briefly stated.

“It’s just a matter of getting to bodies and gang-rebounding. We went zone on a couple of possessions and Azura (Stevens) got an O-Board. That’s kind of expected within a zone but you want to finish plays with rebounds. We just wanted to throw them off rhythm after a timeout. Teams know how to rebound outside of their area. I think we have players that do that. Rebounding to me is just effort and your ‘want-to’ to go chase down balls and get those. 42% that’s pretty effective but there were some misses we could get on the offensive side. Conversely, they didn’t miss much but the ones that they did, we have to do a better job of limiting teams to one possession.” she later added.

On Wednesday, Seattle was out-rebounded 38-28. The Sky also had 11 offensive rebounds that were back-breaking. Both Ezi Magbegor (four rebounds) and Breanna Stewart (just three) were held well below their season averages. It’s an awful sign when both Gabby Williams (six) and Jewell Loyd (five) had more rebounds than both the team’s starting Center and Power Forward.

In the post-game press conference, Stewie took the blame. She spoke about how she only had three rebounds, and that she didn’t do a good job in this game, and it started with her.

The Storm’s inability to get consecutive defensive stops against Chicago without giving up rebounds was one of the largest reasons they lost the game. This leads me to the next topic.

Emma Meesseman is the Key

Emma Meesseman put on a show Wednesday morning. She was by far Chicago’s best player and frankly the reason they won this game. It wasn’t just her efficient scoring (7-12 FG) or timely scoring (driving baseline and scoring to put Chicago up four with a minute to play).

It was her beautiful passing, finding cutting Sky players or whipping a pass around defenders to Allie Quigley for another three. Meesseman dazzled on the court and was a constant headache for the Storm.

And what about her rebounding? Remember when I wrote above that Chicago kept getting key offensive rebounds in critical moments? That was Emma. She had four offensive rebounds in this game; more than any other player. She had 10 total which also was a game-high.

Meesseman’s fingerprints were all over this game. She had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. She wasn’t too far off from a triple-double as she had a game-high six assists as well.

After the game I spoke with Coach Noelle Quinn about what makes Meesseman such a difficult matchup and if her game has any real weaknesses.

“It’s interesting because the one thing I would point to is that she doesn’t take a lot of threes but she’s so efficient everywhere else. She’s very strong in the paint offensively, averages 10+ points within that range. She’s capable of hitting shots. She’s an excellent rebounder and plays the game with her mind. She’s solid defensively. She’s an all-around great player.” Quinn said of Meesseman.

Seattle will play Chicago one more time during the regular season. They MUST find a way to slow her down. With a player like her, it isn’t just about limiting the scoring because she’ll burn you on the glass or find the weak spots of the defense and find the open teammate. The key will be limiting her ability to control the game that way as they did in the first contest when she was held to just two assists.

Washington Mystics fans believed the 2018 WNBA Finals would have had a different outcome had Meesseman been with the team. It’s hard to say for certain the legitimacy of their claim. But you can understand the argument as Meesseman re-joined the team in 2019 and they ended up winning the Championship that year with her being named Finals MVP (over Elena Delle Donne).

If we’re lucky, we could find out that answer in the 2022 WNBA Playoffs…

Finals Preview?

After the game was over, Twitter was abuzz with the game and hyping it up as a potential WNBA Finals preview. A great hard-fought battle between two of the league’s premier teams. With the home team ultimately hanging on to win by four points. That evened the season series up at 1-1 with Seattle winning earlier this year by three points. In two games played against one another this year, these two teams have split the games with a point differential of just +1 in favor of Chicago. That sounds to me like two teams that are pretty evenly matched.

And what a story this would be! The 2021 defending champions facing off against the 2020 WNBA Champions in what is Sue Bird’s final year of her career. No team has won back-to-back championships in the WNBA since the Los Angeles Sparks did it in 2001 and 2002. No WNBA team has ever won five league championships. Seattle could become the first! Bird would tie Rebekkah Brunson as the only player to win five WNBA titles.

Candace Parker would be going for her third title, a rare feat in itself. In what could even be her final season in the league. While Candace hasn’t announced a planned retirement like Bird, January, or Fowles - she has hinted it could be coming soon. What better way to go out than as a back-to-back WNBA champ?

Chicago would likely be favored especially since they would (almost certainly) have the homecourt advantage. But Seattle has enough talent that they could pull off the upset. On Wednesday, both Gabby Williams and Stephanie Talbot struggled to score combining for just five points. If even one of them reaches double figures, the Storm would likely win 90% of those games because you know the team will get contributions from the majority of Stewie, Jewell, Tina, and Ezi.

A Seattle/Chicago WNBA Finals would be thrilling but it’s not the only likely scenario. As I see it, realistically, I think there are 10 different combinations we could see at the end of the year. They are…

Seattle vs Chicago
Seattle vs Connecticut
Seattle vs Las Vegas
Seattle vs Washington

Chicago vs Connecticut
Chicago vs Las Vegas
Chicago vs Washington

Connecticut vs Las Vegas
Connecticut vs Washington

Las Vegas vs Washington

Jersey Count

Back in their Green and Gold “Explorer” uniforms, Seattle wasn’t able to get it done on the road against Chicago. They fought hard overall but the Sky were just a little bit better in the end. With the loss, the Storm drop to a record of 2-4 while wearing the “Explorer” jersey combination. The loss itself is more troublesome, as a win could have vaulted them into a tie for 2nd place but after losing Seattle falls to the 4th overall seed. They now trail the #1 overall seed, Chicago Sky (20-6), by 3 full games. Seattle also trails Las Vegas (18-8), and the Connecticut Sun (17-9) because Connecticut owns the tiebreaker over Seattle. The Storm can still certainly move up in the standings but catching the Sky will be very difficult (mostly because of how strong Chicago has been playing).

Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 6-2
Explorer: 2-4
Heroine: 9-3
Overall Record: 17-9

Up Next

They call it GOAT Wars but really it’s just going to be two best friends facing off against each other one last time. The Seattle Storm will face the Phoenix Mercury on Friday, July 22nd, at 7:00 PM in what will almost certainly be the last game Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird play against one another. Currently, the Phoenix Mercury are on the outside looking in regarding a playoff spot. Even if they get in, Seattle would likely need to be the #1 seed to face the Mercury in the playoffs (as the 8th seed).

Bird recently said in a Zoom interview that she hasn’t given it much thought because she and Dee are great friends and will still see and talk to each other often, so this final game against one another doesn’t feel so final.

Also of note, this will be the first and only time this season that Tina Charles will face the Phoenix Mercury. The team she initially signed with in free agency and some believe “quit on” during the 2022 season. If you recall, Sophie Cunningham shouted “F*** Tina Charles!” after the Mercury won their first game without her. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s any bad blood or if Charles receives loud boos from the Mercury crowd. From Tina’s perspective, I suspect it’ll be business as usual.

Notes:
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Photo Credits to Neil Enns/Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography Team
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