Connecticut uses massive 4th quarter to defeat the Storm 93-86

Seattle had this game won until they didn't.

(Seattle, WA) - Well that certainly didn’t go as planned. In a game Seattle led by double-digits multiple times throughout, it was the Connecticut Sun (9-3) who left Seattle with the victory. Connecticut used a 32-19 fourth-quarter rally to pick up the win.

Seattle lost their second game in a row and has fallen to a .500 record at 5-5 through 10 games. This was the first game all season long where the team had their full intended roster. There were a lot of positives, at least up until the 4th quarter.

Most notably, Ezi Magbegor after missing the past three games due to being quarantined in the Health & Safety protocols returned to lead Seattle in scoring with 19 points. Magbegor also led the team in rebounding with seven rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots. She was also by far the Storm’s best player in plus/minus with Seattle outscoring Connecticut +10 while she was on the court. Gabby Williams was the only other player that had a positive plus/minus with +1.

“A tough loss. I thought our offensive execution that lacked last game, we improved. We scored 86 but then defensively we weren’t as locked in and in tune. Hopefully, we can put a game together offensively and defensively. Overall, it was good to have Ezi and Sue back in the fold. We got good contributions from everyone. Connecticut is a very good team. Just understanding the energy and level we need to play at. We showed it today in spurts but we have to be (more) consistent.” Coach Quinn gave her opening remarks to the media after the game.

With the full roster playing their first game together Coach Quinn did speak on some positives she saw from this game.

“I liked Ezi’s activity. I liked that we got a lot of stuff to the rim. I think over the past couple of games we haven’t been able to get efficient paint points. I loved Sue’s ability to hit some threes for us. That we were in our normal roles so our reserves can come in and impact the game where they’re used to. I thought our energy and aura overall were great.” Quinn added.

After the game was over, I talked to Sue Bird about what she saw from the team now that they finally had their full roster.

“I think very similar to previous games. We have spots where we looked great and spots where we don’t. Having our full roster is very encouraging because we can finally start to build. We can start to get a little more comfortable out there. I’m sure for the coaching staff they can start to plan ahead a little bit better. I mean, knock on wood, I don’t even want to… Covid has been such a B(itch). But they can plan who’s going to be in the game. That’s how I’m approaching this. This loss does sting given that it’s at home and given that we had control of the game early on. But I am encouraged by the fact that we can finally start to build with our full roster.” Bird responded.

Four of Seattle’s starters scored in double figures including Magbegor. Sue Bird had her best offensive game of the season scoring a season-high 17 points. She also added six assists. Jewell Loyd followed that up with 16 points and a team-high seven assists. Breanna Stewart was the final player to reach double-digit scoring; however, after scoring a season-high 31 points against Dallas she did not have a great game. Stewie had 12 points and just three rebounds. She also had a poor shooting performance 4-12 FG including just 1-5 FG from beyond the arc. The length of Connecticut’s defense seemed to really bother Stewart and she took a lot of difficult contested shots.

The Connecticut Sun

Not even three Storm players could stop Jonquel Jones on Sunday.

Connecticut also had four players score in double figures; however, three of them scored above twenty points. The reigning MVP led all players with 25 points including 12 of those coming in the 4th quarter when Connecticut took over the game. JJ also had eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Showing off her excellent versatility.

Brionna Jones came off the bench and dominated. Her size and strength allowed her to dominate down low. She completed 67% (6-9) of her field goals. Just as importantly, Brionna Jones got to the foul line more than any other player in this game and connected on 90% (9-10) of her foul shots.

DeWanna Bonner also scored 21 points in this game. She also had a huge 4th quarter similar to Jonquel. Bonner hit on three of the Sun’s five three-pointers that they made in the final period. Bonner got hot late in this game and that spelled trouble for Seattle.

Alyssa Thomas nearly had a triple-double. She had just eight points but led all players with 12 assists and 11 rebounds which were both a game-high.

I spoke with Ezi Magbegor after the game about the difficulty of defending a frontcourt as physical as Connecticut’s.

“I think they are obviously a physical team. It’s tough, especially when they put in a bigger lineup. I think we just have to work out our matchups and adjust to that. They are a great team. They are a strong team. Just going forward, we obviously play them again. Working out how to match up better against that team.” Magbegor replied.

Lastly, Dijonai Carrington scored 12 points off the bench on a perfect shooting night. She went 5-5 on her field goals including 2-2 from beyond the arc.

For team stats, the Sun outrebounded Seattle 36-26. They had an 11-7 advantage in steals. Connecticut shot the ball better than Seattle did at 55% (23-58 FG) compared to 49% (34-70 FG). Mainly because they prioritized getting the ball into the low post where the Storm settled for too many contested jumpers. Despite the fact that both teams scored 40 points in the paint, there was a noticeable difference in how the teams approached their offensive gameplans. While Seattle converted their three-point shots to a nearly 40% clip through the first three quarters (38%), they cooled off a bit in the 4th period. Dropping their overall shooting percentage to under 35% for the game from long range. Meanwhile, Connecticut forced the ball inside. Not only scoring on those opportunities but they were able to draw a ton of fouls throughout the game.

More than any other stat, Connecticut’s 30-13 advantage in free throw attempts played a larger role in the outcome of this game. The Sun had a 23-9 advantage in made foul shots giving them a +14 from the charity stripe for the game. In a contest where Connecticut won by seven points that clearly had a huge impact.

Game Breakdown

Welcome back Ezi Magbegor! Ezi’s impact was immediately felt upon her return to the starting lineup. In the first few minutes of the game, Ezi had eight points, a block, a steal, and a rebound.

Sue Bird also looked fresh after missing the last three games. Bird hit a corner three and drove into the lane for a layup on another possession. Bird and Magbegor combined for 13 of the team’s first 15 points through the first five minutes of the opening quarter.

Seattle led 18-7 midway through the first.

Dijonai Carrington came off the bench and provided an immediate spark for Connecticut. She converted a fastbreak layup and then knocked down a three-pointer to cut Seattle’s double-digit lead to just six points at 20-14 with roughly two minutes left in the first period.

Ezi checked back in and immediately scored off a pick-and-roll. Brionna Jones responded in the low post down on the other end. Shortly after that, Magbegor found a cutting Briann January who converted the layup.

Brionna Jones had a huge impact for Connecticut off the bench scoring eight points and helping cut into Seattle’s once double-digit lead.

At the end of the first Seattle led 26-20.

Seattle started the 2nd period off with a couple of offensive rebounds that eventually led to a three-point basket by Stephanie Talbot to put the Storm up nine points.

The reigning MVP, Jonquel Jones, scored her first basket of the game on a mid-range jumper on the next possession.

The Storm’s reserves committed back-to-back turnovers, the second of which led to a wide-open Dijonai Carrington layup.

Magbegor was able to respond on the other end with a made basket from beyond the arc. That’s a shot that Ezi is really trying to develop to expand her game and not something she had in her first couple of years.

Epiphanny Prince had a nice up and under layup and was fouled extending the Storm’s lead back to 11 at 37-26.

Stewart and Loyd scored back-to-back layups that capped off a 7-2 run by Seattle. Connecticut Coach Curt Miller called timeout with the Sun trailing by 13 points (41-28) with 4:19 left in the 2nd quarter.

After the timeout, Connecticut went on a 12-0 run. Whatever Curt Miller said during the timeout clearly worked. Four of the Sun’s baskets were layups where they were abusing their height advantage with Brionna and Jonquel Jones. JJ ended up scoring six of the team’s 14 points to end the half.

The run was finally ended by a reverse layup from Gabby Williams. Even still, Connecticut finished the first half on a 14-2 run.

Sue Bird kicked off the third period with a three-pointer. Breanna Stewart followed that up with a nice jumper near the foul line. Connecticut responded with another layup by Jonquel Jones despite Seattle’s pressure with multiple defenders down low.

Magbegor responded with a layup of her own and then Bird hit another three to force Curt Miller to call timeout again. After the Sun had cut Seattle’s lead to one point, the Storm pushed it back to nine points within the first two minutes of the 2nd half.

The Jones “Sisters” did most of the damage for Connecticut to help keep them in the game. They were getting either low post baskets or drawing fouls and getting to the foul line.

Offensive rebounds helped the Storm. Talbot made a nice hustle play that resulted in Sue Bird finding Jewell Loyd cutting for the layup to put Seattle up 59-51.

Loyd had a nifty dribble penetration move that ended with a floater down the lane. DeWanna Bonner made a nice jumper in the short corner and Stewie was able to cut to the rim for a layup getting the assist from Loyd. Stewie and Jewell tried to run a two-woman game on the next possession but the Sun sniffed it out. Carrington was able to steal the ball and go coast-to-coast for the easy two.

DeWanna Bonner made four free throws late in the third period to help reduce Seattle’s lead. The Storm led 67-61 as the teams entered the 4th and final quarter. Every time Seattle would push the lead to 8-12 points Connecticut would respond and cut the lead back down to something more manageable (2-6 points).

Bonner connected on a three-point basket to begin the fourth. Then Carrington hit one to tie the game at 67-67. Connecticut then took the lead on a Jonquel Jones layup, despite the fact that Ezi Magbegor blocked her initial attempt. Ezi then tied the game back at 69-69 on the next play.

In a smart strategy that paid off, Connecticut Coach Curt Miller put all of his best players in the game to begin the 4th while Seattle was still riding with their reserve players. It completely changed the momentum of the game even though Seattle’s starters came in just 90 seconds into the final period. 90 seconds, that’s all the Sun needed.

Jonquel Jones then hit another three for the Sun to put them up by three at 72-69. Bonner then hit yet another three (the team’s fourth of the 4th quarter). On the other end, Stewie took a very difficult contested shot that bricked. Then Connecticut found Jonquel Jones down low again to score another easy layup.

The Sun used a 16-2 run to begin the 4th quarter to take their largest lead of the game 77-69 with 5:59 left to play. It would get worse from there.

After the game was over, Sue Bird spoke with the media about what happened during the 4th quarter.

“This is one of those games where it’s kind of hard to pin-point. I think after we watch the film I’ll probably have a better answer for you because it happened kinda fast. What I remember is they turned us over and got some easy buckets. Then it felt like the basket just kept getting bigger and bigger because all of a sudden threes started dropping that hadn’t dropped for them earlier in the game. It felt like once they got things going in their direction we couldn’t find ways to overcome it.” Bird said.

Stewart was able to draw a foul but made just one of two free throws.

Bonner hit another three. Jonquel scored a layup and was fouled to convert the AND1. That capped off a 26-5 run by the Connecticut Sun through roughly six minutes. Seattle was stunned. And the body language didn’t look good.

Jewell Loyd was able to get a big steal with a little over two minutes left in the game. She raced down the court, converted the layup, and was fouled by Courtney Williams. Jonquel Jones scored on the other end after Seattle trapped Brionna Jones in the corner and nearly had the steal.

Bird hit another three to cap off an 11-2 run by Seattle to put them within four points at 87-83 with less than 90 seconds to play in the game.

Unfortunately, after another stop, Sue Bird turned it over as she went to pick up her dribble to pass to Breanna Stewart but she noticed Stewart was not even looking to receive the pass. She tried to recover but it was too late and was called for a double-dribble. Seattle got yet another stop and found Magbegor cutting to the rim but she left her layup short. That would have cut Connecticut’s lead to two with under 45 seconds to play.

With Seattle unable to capitalize on the opportunities, they were forced to foul sending Connecticut to the foul line. A late Breanna Stewart three-pointer received a loud cheer from the crowd but it was far too late with Seattle still trailing by six points with less than 15 seconds in the game.

Alyssa Thomas made one of two free throws and Jewell Loyd missed a three to end the game.

After the game, Coach Quinn spoke on some of the difficulties they faced with Connecticut’s frontcourt presence and their physicality.

“I think that’s the MO, to be physical with us. To deny and take us off of our spots. We like to play free-flowing. We’re a very rhythm team. With the physicality, there just needs to be some consistency with how the game is officiated.”

I wanted to follow up on that so I asked coach if she had considered playing Stewie, Ezi, and Mercedes (or Jantel) together to combat Connecticut’s large frontcourt.

“No, because then our offense kind of takes a dip. Honestly, I thought we did a decent job on AT (Alyssa Thomas) with her having just eight points. She did have the 12 assists and almost had a triple-double. But we kept her in front. Where they executed the big lineup was defensively. They were able to clog things up. When they switched they were able to go trap Jewell. I thought we matched up decently, really Brionna Jones was playing against our post players. That’s a tough matchup and we struggled guarding her in the paint.” Quinn answered.

Additional Analysis

The Development of Ezi Magbegor is Incredibly Important for this Year and Beyond!

At just 22 years of age, Ezi Magbegor is quickly becoming one of the Storm’s best players. After missing the past three games due to being in the Covid Health & Safety protocols, Magbegor’s presence was immediately noticeable in this game scoring 10 points in the first quarter.

She led the team in three statistical categories (points, rebounds, and blocked shots). Ezi was also tied with multiple other players for a team-high in steals (two).

Magbegor likely won’t win the Most Improved Player of the Year award at the end of the season due to some other players around the league really exploding with their outputs. However, there is a great chance she’ll find her name at least in the conversation if she keeps this up.

Currently, Ezi has increased her scoring from 6.7 PPG to 12.0 PPG, her rebounding from 3.8 RPG to 7.0 RPG, and her assists from 0.8 APG to 1.7 APG. Maybe even more impressive are her defensive numbers. She currently leads the WNBA in blocks per game at 2.9 BPG. She’s also averaging 1.6 steals per contest. To go along with her rebounding there is a legit chance Magbegor could be competing for the Defensive Player of the Year award. If she doesn’t get it, then hopefully she would at least make the All-Defensive team.

Not only is she becoming more comfortable with her larger role on the team. She’s also expanding her offensive game. While she still scores the majority of her points on cuts and drives to the rim. She’s continued to work hard on her jumper and knocked down a three-pointer on Sunday.

After the game, I spoke with both Coach Noelle Quinn and Sue Bird about the progress they’ve seen from Ezi this season.

“Ezi is a testament when you draft a young player and have the ability to just learn and grow with them in the organization. To just train, develop, and get better. She does a lot of hard work on her own. The way she’s played back home in Australia. The way she’s played for the national team. It’s not a surprise that she’s just blossoming. The biggest difference I think this year is her confidence level in knowing our systems. It’s not by chance that she’s being so effective defensively. She now knows where she needs to be and knows where everyone else needs to be. And offensively, if you watch her she’s telling other people what to do and where to go. The knowledge of how to play is coming as well as her ability on the floor.” Coach Quinn told me.

Then getting Bird’s viewpoint on the situation.

“I think she’s really just starting to understand herself more, understand the game a little bit more at this level. Understand the ‘when to’, right? That’s what basketball is. Ezi’s always known how to do things, now she’s starting to see when to do them. It’s funny because I still see so much more that she can do and grow. Areas she can grow in which is a great sign. I mean, the kid is still 22. This is her third year at 22. A person would never walk into the gym today for the first time and think Ezi’s just a 22-year-old. She’s presenting like a mature WNBA player who knows exactly what she’s doing out there. And again, I think she can even get better. But it’s been fun to watch her grow these last couple of years.” Bird told me.

Seattle desperately needs a third scorer to go along with Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd. While Sue Bird was the second-leading scorer in this game. That isn’t the norm. Bird has always been a pass-first point guard throughout her career. She is very talented offensively, but I don’t expect her to be scoring 12-15 PPG every single night at this point. The Storm no longer have Natasha Howard, Alysha Clark, Sami Whitcomb, or even Katie Lou Samuelson. They need more legitimate scorers on the team and if this 2022 squad has any chance of doing something special this year they’re going to need Magbegor to become that third option. It’s not coming from Gabby Williams. It’s not coming from Epiphanny Prince or Stephanie Talbot. Because of her injury and now adjustment to get back into game shape, I don’t see it being Mercedes Russell either. It has to be Ezi.

Magbegor’s development isn’t just important for 2022. If we care to look ahead to 2023 (and beyond), right now Seattle has just two players signed to contracts next season in Jewell Loyd and Mercedes Russell. Magbegor’s contract status for next year is marked as Reserved. To my understanding, that means Seattle can retain Magbegor for one more year (2023) at a team-friendly cost closer to her rookie deal before having to worry about signing her to a larger contract.

We don’t know the status of Sue Bird and whether or not this is her final season. More importantly, we aren’t 100% certain what Breanna Stewart is going to do. The New York Liberty courted her heavily this off-season before she ultimately re-signed with Seattle. While some around the WNBA believe she may be eyeing a return to her home state, I’m not as convinced about that. I wrote a lot about that earlier that I believe the primary reason Stewart signed just the one-year deal had more to do with the WNBA’s prioritization clause; a rule that kicks into the CBA starting in 2023 that penalizes players for playing overseas. 2024, is it even more significant. Whereas next year players will receive large fines for playing overseas and arriving at training camp late. In 2024, they’ll be outright suspended from playing in the WNBA if they choose to go play overseas.

Stewart, like many WNBA players, makes even more money in the leagues that aren’t the WNBA. Considering a professional athlete’s career is so short-lived it is their responsibility to make as much money as possible while they can. And we’ve seen this before. Russia paid Diana Taurasi over a million dollars to NOT play in the WNBA for one year. While I can’t imagine any WNBA players wanting to go back to Russia right now due to the Brittney Griner situation. There are still several other countries like China and Spain that are willing to pay more money.

If Stewie is not on the Storm next season whether that’s because she signed with a different team or she opted to only play overseas, the Storm are going to need Magbegor to fill that role.

No. Of course, no one can truly replicate what Breanna Stewart does on the basketball court outside of maybe Jonquel Jones. But Ezi does have a lot of strong similar characteristics. Defensively, they are both excellent shot blockers and good rebounders. Offensively, Magbegor doesn’t quite have the range but can still get to the rim and put up a lot of points.

Whether Seattle is Stewie-less or not. Magbegor should play a large vital role in the future of this organization for years to come.

Jersey Count

The Seattle Storm were wearing their traditional green and gold (yellow) “Explorer” uniforms. Unfortunately, they lost again dropping their record to just 1-3 while wearing this specific set. After losing both of their games this week the Storm fall back to .500 at 5-5 through ten games.

Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 2-1
Explorer: 1-3
Heroine: 2-1
Overall Record: 5-5

Up Next

One final home game for the Storm before they go on a five-game road trip. They will host the Atlanta Dream (7-4) on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM. Atlanta brings former Storm great Tanisha Wright as their new head coach along with rookie of the year frontrunner (and number one overall pick) Rhyne Howard. It’s far too early in the season to call this game a must-win. But with that road trip looming, the team needs to protect their home court. Something they didn’t do this past weekend.

Notes: Thanks for everyone’s support, it’s greatly appreciated! Please refer all your friends who love the WNBA and enjoy in-depth coverage of the Storm and the league overall. The more I can grow this substack the more I’ll be able to do in regards to covering the Storm and the WNBA.

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Photo Credits to Neil Enns/Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography Team and sometimes my own.