Chicago takes advantage of the short-handed Storm beating Seattle 87-85 in OT.
Allie Quigley and the Chicago Sky knocked down key shots to beat Seattle in the Windy City.
(Chicago, Illinois) - The Seattle Storm lost their first official game back from the Olympic break. While they defeated the Connecticut Sun on Thursday as part of the Commissioner’s Cup championship game that game didn’t count in the standings.
This one did. And without Breanna Stewart or Sue Bird playing in this game, Seattle just didn’t quite have enough to beat the Chicago Sky. But they came really, really close ultimately falling to the Sky 87-85 in overtime.
Seattle had four players score in double figures with Jewell Loyd scoring a season-high 26 points. However, it certainly wasn’t the most efficient game for Seattle’s All-Star and Olympian as she took 30 shots to get her 26 points, finishing 7-30 from the floor (23%). Loyd did have five rebounds and a game-high five steals.
“We did a lot of good things. We'll go back and watch the film. Sometimes losses don't seem as bad as they are and wins don’t seem as good as they are, so we'll go back and watch the film and then see how we can improve, but also understanding that he did a lot of good things in this game.” Loyd said after the game.
Ezi Magbegor continues to step up during the second half of this season which is a great sign for Seattle’s future. Magbegor set a new career-high scoring 21 points on 9-19 FG shooting (47%). Ezi also had nine rebounds and three blocked shots. The 22-year old from Australia is a huge piece of Seattle’s future and it’s great to see her getting more comfortable and confident in her second season in the WNBA.
“Her game was big today.” Noelle Quinn said of Magbegor’s performance. “She was solid for us in all areas. Locked into the schemes. Scoring 21 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. We’re seeing Ezi’s evolution. There’s so much more in store for her as a young player. She’s a great person. Just her work ethic and mental approach to the game. I’m happy to see her playing at this level right now.”
“I think just playing inside and, when I did have mismatches, being able to capitalize on that. I did miss a few easy shots and I think I need to get better at that. But my teammates did a great job of finding me in transition. So, credit to them.” Magbegor added.
Mercedes Russell was huge in this game. She nearly finished with a triple-double as the Center out of Tennessee scored 10 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and had a team-high seven assists. Pretty impressive that the team’s 6’6” center led them in assists. They often joke about Cedes being a point guard in a center’s body. With a performance like that you understand why.
Lastly, Epiphanny Prince got the start in this game as Seattle went with a small lineup of Canada, Loyd, Prince, Samuelson, and Russell to begin this game. Prince finished the game with 13 points on 50% FG shooting (5-10) including a perfect 3-3 from three-point range. Prince also finished with seven rebounds and four assists. Her points, rebounds, and assists were all third-best on the team in this game. She definitely gave them solid contributions throughout this game.
After the game, Coach Quinn talked about her message to the team.
“We were encouraged, you know, as a staff. What we talked a little bit in my message to the players was that we fought, we battled, and we were right there in the midst of leaving this place with the W. It was a matter of just giving a little bit more, and we did that. We played hard, we had some good contributions from a lot of people. Mercedes almost had a triple-double, Jewell had a season-high, Ezi ended with a career-high. These are players who are going to continue to step up in a way and we need them to feel comfortable and confident in what they can do within our systems. So, there are a lot of positives [from this game]: we outrebounded them, we kept our turnovers low. I think there are some really good things to be proud of and that was my message to them.” Noelle stated.
The Chicago Sky also had four players scoring in double figures with Kahleah Copper leading the way with 19 points including several impressive drives to the basket. She has an incredible first step that is lightning quick allowing her to blow by defenders.
While Copper led the team in points as she has this season, it was Allie Quigley that did the most damage to Seattle. And it came early in the game and in the most crucial moments of the fourth quarter. When Chicago trailed by 11 in the first period, it was Quigley who drilled back-to-back triples to get Chicago back in the game. And with the Sky trailing by six in the final 90 seconds, it was once again Quigley who buried two more threes back-to-back in the final minute of the game to force overtime. Her 17 points were as timely as can be which turned a loss into a win for Chicago,
Diamond DeShields scored 13 points and Candace Parker added 12 points and nine rebounds in the victory. And while Parker looked tired at times out there, she also had some absolutely beautiful passes that resulted in easy baskets for Chicago and she came up with the most crucial offensive rebound in overtime that sealed the victory for the Sky.
Seattle really battled in this game. They outrebounded the Sky 47-44. And forced Chicago into 19 total turnovers while only committing 10 themselves. The Storm were active defensively with a 9-3 edge in steals and a 5-4 advantage in blocks.
The key difference that swung the game in favor of Chicago was the field goal shooting. The Sky shot 43% (33-77) and 38% from beyond the arc (9-24) while the Storm shot under 35% (29-84) and 33% from deep (6-18). Chicago also held a 36-24 advantage on bench points.
The team also needed to get a lot more from Katie Lou Samuelson and Stephanie Talbot. The two combined for just three points total on 1-7 field goal shooting in 28 minutes of total action. If either one of them scores 8-10 points or they each get five points Seattle is walking away with a victory.
Game Breakdown
Seattle got off to a hot start. The team was very aggressive defensively. Back-to-back steals led to a Jewell Loyd three-pointer and a Katie Lou Samuelson layup that extended Seattle’s run to 8-0 putting them up 12-4 just three minutes into the game. The Storm continued to play well with Loyd leading the way. They led by as many as 11 points at 17-6 in the first quarter before Chicago started to turn things around.
Allie Quigley came off the bench and was on fire. The reigning three-point shooting champion knocked down three triples in the first quarter, two of them within the first minute of her subbing into the game. That helped cut Seattle’s lead to just five points at 17-12.
Jewell had a beautiful steal intercepting the ball in the passing lane that resulted in an easy layup to put Seattle up 22-15. Seattle finished the quarter leading 24-19 after Quigley hit another three. Loyd and Quigley both led their teams with nine points each after one.
As good as Seattle played in the first quarter they played that poorly in the second period. Seattle shot under 17% from the floor (3-18) and their offense was completely out of sync. At one point between the end of the first and most of the second quarter, Seattle had missed 21 of 25 shots. Frankly, they were lucky they weren’t trailing by 15+ points. They did convert on this beautiful play between Jewell and Ezi.
Chicago tied the game up at 28-28 midway through the second period and Stefanie Dolson knocked down a three to give Chicago the lead for the first time since it was 2-0. The Sky outscored Seattle 16-8 in the second quarter and led 35-32 at the break.
Loyd led Seattle with 10 points but scored just one point in the second. Seattle missed several free throws in the first half knocking down just 5-10.
In the third, Seattle responded well after an abysmal second quarter. Seattle had a lot more energy and erased Chicago’s lead and even took a two-point lead into the fourth after outscoring the Sky 23-18. Jewell scored six of her points in the third with most of those coming from the foul line. Loyd knocked down 4-4 from the charity stripe in the third and 10-11 overall. Magbegor was also active scoring six of her points in the third and 17 of her 21 points in the 2nd half and overtime periods.
Epiphanny Prince knocked down a three and Jewell Loyd sank a pair of free throws as Seattle regained the lead 49-48 with three and a half minutes left in the third. A fancy reverse layup by Kennedy Burke and a pair of free throws from Magbegor gave Seattle a 55-50 lead with 30 seconds to play in the quarter.
One thing that really stood out in this game was the timely three-point shooting by Chicago. Quigley hit five threes in this game and Dana Evans drilled a three at the end of the third to cut Seattle’s lead to just two at 55-53. That three was contested with a hand in her face and really was a clutch moment in the game. It was one of many big shots by Chicago that ultimately doomed Seattle.
After a Magbegor layup, Chicago ran off six quick points to regain the lead at 59-57 early in the fourth. Both teams exchanged several baskets over the next few minutes and then Jewell Loyd hit a three, Seattle got a stop and then Ezi made a shot cutting to the rim and was fouled. That gave Seattle a 73-66 lead with four minutes to play in regulation. Five quick points by Kahleah Copper cut the lead back to two.
Seattle led by six points with under 90 seconds to play in the game but allowed Allie Quigley to break free for not one but two three-point shots to tie the game up at 79-79. Jordin Canada had a chance to win the game in the final ten seconds of regulation after Courtney Vandersloot made a horrible decision to rush a pass down the court that was picked off by Canada. Canada made a beautiful steal like she was a cornerback getting an interception and then raced down the court for the fastbreak opportunity. Canada was fouled but unfortunately missed both free throws that would have won the game for Seattle in regulation.
Instead, the game went into OT where Seattle was completely gassed. Coach Quinn rolled with the same players as Jordin, Jewell, Epiphanny, Ezi, and Mercedes played the entire overtime period and all of them also played at least the final seven and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. I have to wonder if a substitution either with a couple of minutes left in regulation or to start the extra period could have made the difference in this game.
As it was, Seattle looked tired. They scored just six points on 30% (3-10) shooting including 1-6 FG from Loyd in OT. They also gave up three offensive rebounds including a backbreaker when Candace Parker missed a shot, ripped the rebound away from Mercedes Russell, and laid it back up to put Chicago up four with one minute remaining in the game.
Out of the timeout, Loyd took an ill-advised fadeaway three that was well short. Fortunately, Seattle held defensively the rest of the game. Loyd responded by driving into the lane and knocking down a shot to cut Chicago’s lead to 87-85. Seattle would get one more stop and had one last chance to win the game or send the game to double OT with about six seconds remaining. Loyd got the ball at the top of the three-point line and had a chance to take a three or drive the lane. She drove the lane opting to send the game into double OT. Loyd had a fantastic look at the basket and just missed the layup.
After the game, Loyd said she should have taken the three.
“I had the three, I probably should have taken it. I seem to be better at hitting game-winners than tying the game.”
I will never fault a player that goes to the rim to try and get a layup or draw a foul in a close-game situation. Far too often you have players dribble the clock out and launch a contested jumper instead. Even as a youth basketball coach, those low percentage shots drive me nuts. I have no problem with Jewell taking the shot she did. And neither did Noelle Quinn.
”I like the ball in our best playermaker’s hands with the ability to get us into either another overtime, to (possibly) get to the free throw line. Just make a decision. We’ve seen Jewell in late games this season and we’ve seen what she can do. I thought she had a great look at the basket. I’ll take a layup any day. The plan was to take the best available shot and I thought that layup was the best one.” Quinn said about the final play.
Additional Analysis
The Top of the Mountain is Getting Crowded
It’s one day of WNBA games. Seattle still has ten games left in the regular season and plenty of time to course-correct. But on Sunday with all 12 teams in action as the post-Olympic play kicked off, the results across the league couldn’t have gone worse for the Storm.
Seattle lost to Chicago dropping them to 16-6 while the Sky improved to 11-10. Connecticut trounced the Dallas Wings 80-59 to improve to 15-6 and just a half-game behind Seattle. Then the Washington Mystics had a complete collapse giving up a 21-point second-half lead and allowing the Las Vegas Aces to steal a victory by a final score of 84-83. Myisha Hines-Allen dribbled down the lane, did a jump stop, and hooked a shot in but the referee waved it off and called an egregious traveling violation. That would have put Washington up three with less than 30 seconds to play. Instead, the traveling violation was called and Chelsea Gray hit the game-winner for Las Vegas.
With the victory, Las Vegas moves into a tie with Seattle at 16-6 but holds the tiebreaker over the Storm so the Aces are now the number one seed while Seattle falls to number two. Seattle’s loss could prove very costly if they drop another game soon and fall out of one of the top two seeds entirely.
Since the WNBA changed their playoff format in 2016 that grants the top two seeds a double-bye to the semifinals only one team has reached the WNBA Finals without finishing in one of those top two spots. That was the 2018 Washington Mystics who finished third in the regular season that year behind Seattle and Atlanta but “upset” the Dream in five games to reach the Finals.
To say that the double-bye is critical for Seattle’s WNBA Championship aspirations would be an understatement.
Lastly, back to the league overall, the Minnesota Lynx won over the New York Liberty 88-78 as Minnesota has now won eight games in a row and improved their record to 13-7.
Everyone in the top five of the league standings won their game today except Seattle. It’s one day and a handful of games but it certainly was not a good day for the Storm.
In my last article, I said Seattle likely needed to finish 8-3 in their final 11 games to hold onto a top-two seed. That’s just my best estimation with the schedule and the current standings heading into post-Olympic play. If that holds true, that means Seattle now needs to finish 8-2 in their final 10 games.
Of the Top Four teams in the WNBA, Seattle holds tiebreaker advantages over both Connecticut and Minnesota. And the Aces hold the advantage over Seattle. If Connecticut finishes with the best record and Seattle and Vegas are tied, then Seattle will be the third seed. If Seattle finishes above Las Vegas and tied with either Connecticut or Minnesota they will be the one seed. And if Seattle is tied or above Connecticut and Minnesota but below Vegas, they will still earn the double-bye as the two seed.
The Rest was Necessary
If Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird play against Chicago the Storm almost certainly come away with a victory considering how close the game was without them playing. It’s really unfortunate the Storm weren’t able to steal a game while resting two of their star players.
Even though having Stewart and Bird not available for this game cost them a game in the standings the move was 100% necessary.
Realistically, the Storm could have played the Commissioner’s Cup game without their Big 3 of Bird, Loyd, and Stewart. No one would blame those three for wanting rest after just flying back to the United States from the Tokyo Olympic games a few days prior. Ultimately, all three decided to play in the game and the team went on to win the first-ever Commissioner’s Cup game 79-57.
Seattle won a championship trophy, etched their name in the league’s history books as the first team to ever win the Cup, and received a handsome payday; with each player earning an additional $30,000.
WNBA salaries have often been a big topic of conversation, especially for fans that love these teams, love these players, and want to see them well compensated. Especially, when seeing male athletes receive not just million-dollar contracts but now making upwards of $30-50 million per season in the NBA, NFL, and MLB.
While the WNBA has a long way to go, the 2020 collective bargaining agreement and the salary cap have improved player salaries from a max of around $115K to $220K (nearly double for max salaries). Regardless, an extra $30,000 is a huge bonus for these women. Especially for players who are on rookie deals like Katie Lou Samuelson, Ezi Magbegor, and Kiana Williams who are making below $70,000 for the season. In Williams's case, since she was cut during part of this season and is not guaranteed a full roster spot through the end of the year, winning the Commissioner’s Cup essentially doubled her salary with the team.
From both a financial standpoint and a historic one, the Commissioner’s Cup game was more important than the first game or two of the post-Olympic schedule. It is 100% understandable why the players would opt to play in this game even if it didn’t count in the regular-season standings.
But ultimately, Stewart and Bird did need rest. And it’s better to give it to them now than the final five games of the season that could all end up being “must-wins”.
Stewart averaged more minutes on Team USA than any other player averaging 32 minutes a game; nearly ten minutes more per contest than either Brittney Griner or A’ja Wilson. In fact, Sue Bird played the second-most minutes of any Olympian on the roster at 25 MPG. You can second-guess Coach Dawn Staley if they both needed to play that many minutes, especially the 40-year old Bird when the team had Chelsea Gray, Skylar Diggins-Smith, and to a lesser extent Diana Taurasi or Jewell Loyd who can also run the point. But the results speak for themselves as Team USA finished with their 7th consecutive Gold Medal win at the Olympics.
One thing I wrote about previously was that I was surprised Bird had been playing so many minutes this season and had not taken a day off simply to rest to help keep her fresh for another championship run. Well, it finally happened and it’s a good thing even if it comes at the cost of a game or two the team would normally win.
I spoke with Coach Quinn after the game and she did say Stewart and Bird would be in New York. However, the Storm play two games in a row against New York so it is possible they rest again on Wednesday and join the team on Friday in Brooklyn.
Loyd played at Chicago which was not surprising as it’s the only time Seattle plays in Chicago this year and she wanted to play in front of friends and family. It will be interesting to see if Jewell is given a game or two off now so that she can finally get some rest. She had moments on Sunday where fatigue definitely appeared to be a factor. At one point she missed eight or nine shots in a row with several of them coming up short.
Jersey Count
Seattle lost for just the second time all season while wearing their traditional green and gold uniforms. They are now 5-2 while wearing the Explorer jerseys. The team battled hard while being shorthanded but weren’t able to get it done in Chicago.
Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 4-3
Explorer: 5-2
Heroine: 7-1
Overall Record: 16-6
Up Next
Seattle’s five-game road trip continues as they make their way to Brooklyn, New York where they’ll face the New York Liberty in back-to-back games on Wednesday (August 18th) and Friday (August 20th). Wednesday’s game is at 4:00 PM (Seattle, PDT) and will air nationally on CBS Sports Network and locally on AntennaTV.
Seattle will get to go up against former teammates Natasha Howard and Sami Whitcomb who are both starting for the Liberty. Howard returned from injury and played Sunday against Minnesota. Hopefully, we’ll get to see Stewart versus Howard in this game!
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.