Sun Handle Storm on Kids Day 81-69

Seattle loses again at home. On Kids Day of all days.

Notes: Unfortunately, due to the early start I was unable to cover the game live or interview players or coaches after. This will be a short recap available to all.

(Seattle, WA) - The Seattle Storm (7-21) could not carry the momentum they had on the road. Despite a three-game winning streak away from Climate Pledge Arena, the Storm have yet to win three games at home all season. That continued on Tuesday early afternoon, as Seattle struggled against one of the league’s best teams. The Connecticut Sun took care of business as they won the game 81-69.

Just about every Storm player struggled to score. Jewell Loyd tied Sami Whitcomb to lead the team in scoring but only had 11 points. That’s less than half her season average of 24.3 PPG. Connecticut was able to clamp down defensively on Loyd as she shot 5-18 FG and missed all eight of her three-point attempts.

Whitcomb was a little better scoring 11 points on 40% (4-10 FG) shooting. She also added a team-high five assists and four rebounds. But if Sami is the team’s leading scorer with 11 points, the Storm aren’t going to win very many basketball games.

Gabby Williams looked strong again to start this game scoring all seven of her points in the first period. Sadly, she rolled her ankle trying to get a rebound and landing on another player’s foot during the second quarter. She did not return to the game.

Seattle’s frontcourt was solid as Ezi Magbegor finished with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu nearly had a double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds. Half of her points did come in the fourth quarter with the Sun resting some of their starters and leading by 20+ points.

One bright spot was the fact that rookies Jordan Horston and Jade Melbourne had some positive moments in the fourth quarter. Horston scored six of her nine points in the fourth quarter. Melbourne added four of her six points in the final period and all four of her rebounds while playing the entire 10 minutes.

They out-rebounded Connecticut 40-34. Seattle’s bench outscored the Sun’s reserves 22-17.

Connecticut Sun

Alyssa Thomas was this close to another triple-double. She finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. She also had four steals for good measure.

In total, four of the Sun’s starters scored in double figures. DeWanna Bonner led all scorers with 21 points. She knocked down 4-6 three-pointers including one before the halftime buzzer that capped off a dominant 29-14 quarter for the road team. Bonner added eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Connecticut led by 24 points (60-36) in the second half on one of her threes. The Sun led 68-50 entering the final frame and DeWanna didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter.

Rebecca Allen added 13 points including nine in the first period when the rest of her teammates were struggling. Tiffany Hayes contributed with 10 points including five over the last 10 minutes.

The Sun outshot the Storm 46% (32-70 FG) to 41% (29-70 FG). More importantly, they were significantly better from beyond the arc connecting on 47% (7-15 FG) compared to Seattle’s 21% (5-24 FG). Their defense forced Seattle into 17 turnovers and Connecticut scored 23 points off those turnovers. They had more active hands collecting 11 steals to the Storm’s six. The road team was also more successful in transition with a 16-5 advantage in fast break points.

Additional Analysis

What’s the Opposite of Home Cooking?

The Seattle Storm are a league-worst 2-13 at home this season. That’s absurd. While they are clearly struggling overall this season with a 7-21 record they have been significantly worse at home in Climate Pledge Arena.

They are actually a respectable 5-8 on the road this year. That’s roughly a 38% win percentage compared to just 13% at home. The Storm have won more than twice as many games away from Seattle than in their home arena.

And it would be one thing if Seattle played in one of these smaller WNBA arenas that only seats three to five thousand people. Or if fans had completely given up and stopped attending games at Climate Pledge Arena. But that is far from the case. The Storm currently average just under 8,800 fans per game. That ranks 3rd in the WNBA just behind the Phoenix Mercury (8,950) and the Las Vegas Aces (9,100).

Sami Whitcomb didn’t have any answers as to why the team struggles so much at home.

“Who bloody knows? I love our fans. We have a great crowd. I feel like we have this great environment that should propel us and help us. But we have not used it to our advantage most of the time. I could not tell you what that is. Maybe our mindset is a little bit more focused on the road… I don’t know, I couldn’t tell you.” Whitcomb told the Seattle media after the game.

Interestingly enough, the Storm aren’t the only sports team to struggle at Climate Pledge Arena. The Seattle Kraken this past season made the playoffs and in general, were a very good team. But they were considerably worse at home with a record of 20-17-4. That was compared to their road record of 26-11-4.

It was a constant point of discussion during the NHL season as to why the team was always so much more successful on the road.

Whatever is going on at Climate Pledge Arena, hopefully, the Storm and Kraken both figure it out and take advantage of their awesome home crowds and beautiful building.

Gabby Williams Injury

The fact Gabby Williams got injured is really unfortunate. She has been playing some of the best basketball of her WNBA career recently. Gabby has played a large role in the team’s recent wins. She’s scoring at a higher clip than before and her versatility with rebounding, assists, and defense has been on full display.

I don’t think it was a coincidence that she was playing very well in the first quarter and that’s when the Storm got out to a 9-2 lead and still led 16-9 more than halfway through the opening period.

When asked by the media how the loss of Gabby impacted the team, Sami Whitcomb had this say.

“A lot. Defensively, she gives a lot in terms of her versatility, her effort and energy, her rebounds, she’s long. Offensively, I think she’s really hit her stride with her scoring. We need that extra (offense). We can’t rely so much on Jewell offensively. She’s been really key in a lot of improvements we’ve had offensively in terms of sharing the ball. Just when we win, when we play better, she’s a big part of that for sure.” Whitcomb stated.

It is unfortunate because we don’t know right now if this will cause her to miss games or not. All we know is that Gabby is an Unrestricted Free Agent next season and unless the CBA gets changed with prioritization, this may be the last season we get to watch Williams play in the WNBA. At least, until those rules are changed.

If Gabby does have to miss some games, it’ll be interesting to see if the team leans more on rookie Jordan Horston. Horston is a similar player with a lot of the same qualities that Gabby brings to the court. In recent games, her minutes have decreased so this would be a good opportunity for her to take advantage of some more playing time if Williams is out with her ankle injury.

Coach Noelle Quinn didn’t have a definitive answer on the severity of the injury after the game. With the Storm playing again on Thursday, we should see a Health Report from the team go out on Wednesday afternoon/evening where we should learn a little more about Gabby’s injury.

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (7-21) will host the Atlanta Dream (15-13) on Thursday, August 10th at 7:00 PM. Seattle lost the first match against Atlanta 85-75. In that game, Jewell Loyd sat out to rest her injured foot. Jordan Horston got the start in her place and scored a career-high 23 points. She also had a double-double with 10 rebounds in the game.

Notes:
Follow my Twitter (@WNBAStormChaser)
I’m also on the new Threads app (@WNBAStormChasers)
Photo Credits to Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography
Thanks for all the great support! Please tell other Storm fans about my coverage.