Rookies Shine but Storm Lose 80-76 in NY

Seattle nearly pulled off a major upset against the New York Liberty on Saturday.

(Brooklyn, New York) - I know they say no more moral victories but I’m giving the Storm a moral victory in this game. After getting absolutely boat-raced by Connecticut on Thursday, a game in which they trailed by 37 points, the Seattle Storm came out and battled to the very end against the New York Liberty. If you’re looking for positives during this difficult season, this was certainly one of them. Especially, because of how this young Seattle team competed and which players gave them strong contributions. In the end, New York escaped with an 80-76 victory but there was a lot to be pleased with even in the losing effort.

Sami Whitcomb led the team in scoring with 19 points off the bench. She was efficient overall as she made 57% of her shots. Whitcomb actually did a lot of her damage inside the arc. She didn’t just settle for threes, she was aggressive driving to the rim and finishing layups and other short-range shots. She scored 12 of her 19 points in the 4th period and nearly helped Seattle pull off the upset.

I spoke with her after the game about her performance in the 4th quarter and how she attacked New York’s defense.

“We just really wanted to get good shots, move the ball, and make them work defensively. Obviously, losing Jewell was a blow for us but we knew we could find other ways to score; so it was about capitalizing on that. I liked the shots I got in the end.” Whitcomb told me.

“I wasn’t making shots early in terms of from the three but they were still closing out pretty hard on me so I just tried to use that to my advantage. Get downhill, I was trying to get downhill to create for other people but a lot of the time it ended up that I had a look. I was really just trying to make the right read with that and not force the outside shots.” She added.

Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu got the first start of her career and absolutely made the most of it. She finished with her first career double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds. But things didn’t start off well. She made a couple of mistakes early that resulted in turnovers. It could have been easy for Coach Quinn to have a short hook and send her back to the bench. But she didn’t. Quinn allowed Dulcy to learn from those mistakes and it paid off.

I spoke with Noelle about that decision to leave her in the game.

“To me, it was an easy decision because all of our players have done that (make mistakes). To give her an opportunity and another chance because I trust in the work that she’s put in. Every day she’s doing extra work. Every day she’s working very hard in practice. What we see as a group, I knew at some point it was going to help us. Her physicality, her readiness. But you’re right and I’ll admit, (a player) gets a couple of reps and they aren’t successful and I’m quick to pull. But I just knew we needed her physicality more than anything today and I wanted to keep her matched up on JJ as much as possible. I thought she took great advantage of her opportunity and she played very hard. A lot of great things happened.” Coach Quinn told me.

Seattle continues to struggle offensively. They finished making under 39% (29-75 FG) of their shots. And an awful 19% (6-32 FG) from beyond the arc. They also committed 18 turnovers which led to 18 points for the Liberty.

But it wasn’t all bad. With the insertion of Dulcy into the starting lineup, they absolutely dominated the rebounding. They out-rebounded New York 48-30. Seattle cleaned up the offensive glass with a 15-4 advantage. That led to 17 second-chance points compared to the Liberty’s four. They also finally won the points in the paint battle. They outscored New York 34-26 in that category. Thanks to Whitcomb, Seattle’s bench outscored New York’s 29-10.

“We know and love Sami to be a shooter, an energy player, and our hardest worker. She did that today. I thought she gave us great energy, she lifted us, and she was very confident on both ends of the floor. I’m very happy about our effort today.” Quinn added.

New York Liberty

Breanna Stewart continues to show why she’s the best player in the world. She finished with a game-high 25 points. Stewie added eight rebounds and three assists. Sabrina Ionescu came up big for New York scoring 11 of her 20 points in the 4th quarter with the game on the line. She knocked down six three-pointers in the game.

Liberty Head Coach Sandy Brondello praised Seattle’s effort, specifically the Storm’s rebounding.

“It’s just a mindset, making sure we’re finishing plays. We were over-trapping in the beginning… it’s just executing exactly what we wanted to. But credit to Seattle, their players came in hungry today.” Brondello stated.

Stewart was more blunt.

“Both teams didn’t shoot the ball well, and they (out)rebounded the shit out of us. At the end, we got the win. We take that and move on.” She said.

Stewie did give credit to her former team.

“This is the WNBA. All the teams in the WNBA are filled with great players, great talent. Nothing is easy and everyone is going to give us their best shot. Especially, coming off a tough loss to Connecticut. They are a young, hungry team.” Stewart added.

Game Breakdown

New York jumped out to an 8-0 lead after Courtney Vandersloot scored and then Sabrina Ionescu knocked down back-to-back three-pointers.

Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu struggled a little to begin her first start. Jewell Loyd made a beautiful pass to her under the basket but Fankam Mendjiadeu second-guessed herself with the layup and traveled instead of making the quick layup. She also lost track of the shot clock which nearly caused a shot-clock violation.

With that said Dulcy absolutely redeemed herself. She pulled down multiple rebounds including an offensive rebound where she did a reverse layup to score past Jonquel Jones. Fankam Mendjiadeu also had an emphatic block on Ionescu that led to transition points for Seattle.

We saw some beautiful basketball by Seattle to get back into the game. Jordan Horston was aggressive with a downhill drive to the rim. Then she found Ezi for a fastbreak layup. Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu rejected Sabrina Ionescu on New York’s next possession. Sami Whitcomb recovered the ball and pushed it up to Horston who found Ezi again for another layup. New York led 16-13 late in the first.

Stewie was able to score off an offensive rebound. Jewell knocked down a triple. The Liberty led 18-16 after one period of play.

Betnijah Laney made an immediate impact to start the second quarter. She scored a tough short jumper over Horston. Then stole the ball away from Mercedes Russell which led to a fast break basket for Laney.

Sami hit a midrange jumper and then Mercedes Russell was able to complete a putback layup. Loyd then tied the game on a nifty bank shot. She then put Seattle on top with a pair of free throws. Jonquel Jones and Stewart both scored to give the Liberty the advantage.

Ezi knocked down a dribble pullup which is something we haven’t seen from her very much. Magbegor continues to develop and improve her game. After that, Ionescu picked up a technical foul because she felt she was fouled and had some nasty things to say to the ref. Whitcomb hit the free throw and then Magbegor drove and found Dulcy who cut towards the hoop.

A quick 5-0 run by New York as Stewart hit a three and then Ionescu made a beautiful no-look pass to Nyara Sabally for the easy layup.

Surprisingly, Seattle led 36-35 at halftime. A big part of that was the Storm’s ability to rebound. They had a 27-17 advantage including 8-2 with offensive rebounds. Both teams shot poorly. The Liberty made just 36% (13-36 FG) and the Storm were even worse at 33% (13-39 FG).

Ivana Dojkić made back-to-back three-pointers to open the third period up to put Seattle up seven points at 42-35. However, New York responded immediately with three triples by Jones, Ionescu, and Vandersloot. Stewart’s basket put them on top to cap off an 11-2 run.

Both teams battled back and forth throughout the third period. Stewart hit a three and then got an AND1. Then Kayla Thorton and Nyara Sabally made four straight free throws to give the Liberty a 10-0 run and an eight-point lead.

Horston made a beautiful midrange jumper past Stewart to end the run. Jordan was able to hang in the air long enough to allow Stewart’s hand to get out of her range.

At the end of the third, the Liberty led 60-54.

Horston physically out-muscled Stewart and finished off the glass to begin the fourth quarter. Then Dulcy grabbed an offensive rebound and immediately laid it back in to cut the Liberty’s lead down to two forcing a quick timeout by Brondello.

Horston made a couple of really nice plays in the 4th. She hit a smooth midrange jumper and then immediately got a steal on the other end when New York tried to make a cross-court pass.

Magbegor tied the game at 64-64 but then Ionescu was able to knock down two three-pointers to put New York up six at 70-64.

Whitcomb would cut the lead to two at 70-68 but then New York would go on an 8-0 run. Stewart hit a three-ball and then Ionescu hit her third triple of the quarter. Coach Quinn called timeout with the Storm down 10 at 78-68.

Seattle responded as they had all game long. Whitcomb knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to make it a four-point game with just over two minutes to play. Whitcomb would dribble drive and hit another shot off the glass to cut the deficit down to two.

Both Horston and Whitcomb had a chance to tie the game in the final minute but came up short. Seattle was forced to foul and Ionescu knocked down the game’s final free throws. New York survived the Storm to win 80-76.

Additional Analysis

More Post Help… Is Here?

In my last game recap, I wrote all about how the Storm are going to need to address their post in the off-season through the WNBA Draft and Free Agency. Whether that’s drafting players like Stanford’s Cameron Brink or UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards or maybe it’s trying to lure Jonquel Jones (UFA) or Satou Sabally (RFA) to Seattle.

I still believe the Storm will need to do this. You can never have enough talented post players in the WNBA. Was Stewie better when she had Natasha Howard, Ezi Magbegor, Tina Charles, or now Jonquel Jones alongside her? Of course, she is! The same can be said for when the Washington Mystics had Elena Delle Donne and Emma Meesseeman. Or Connecticut with Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones.

With that said, what we saw from Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu in her first career start was extremely encouraging. She played 37 minutes and had her first career double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. She was also very efficient from the floor making 5-7 FG. Mendjiadeu also had two blocks making an impact in every facet of the game.

I asked Sami about Dulcy’s performance in her first career start.

“Honestly, none of us are surprised that Dulcy could come in and do that. She’s done it since camp. She just really hasn’t had the opportunity to showcase it in a whole game; she’s kinda had limited minutes. But even in the limited minutes, she comes in and impacts the game straight away. Particularly, on the boards but you’ve seen she’s capable of scoring as well. She’s so strong. She just comes in and works harder than everybody and you get rewarded when you do that.” Whitcomb replied.

Dulcy talked to me about how she learned she would be starting in the game.

“We were doing the scouting report and I just saw my name in the starting lineup. I was really nervous. But then I just had to put myself into the game. I had to be ready. I’ve worked on my readiness every day.” Fankam Mendjiadeu stated.

“I’m really proud of myself. The confidence my teammates had in me. They’re really hyping me up. Every time, even when I messed up. They told me to be confident in myself. I took that energy to do what I do best.” She added.

Coach Quinn wouldn’t commit to keeping Dulcy in the starting lineup. But she certainly made a positive impact and should continue to get more and more playing time as the season progresses, especially if she’s going to play this well.

Rookies Shine Bright

The absolute best thing about this game if you’re a Storm fan is that three out of the team’s four rookies played significant minutes and had strong performances. They were also playing in the 4th quarter with the game on the line against the 2nd best team in the WNBA. That is an invaluable experience for those young players.

Dulcy, Jordan, and Ivana all played the entire fourth quarter. While it was Whitcomb that did the most damage scoring in those final ten minutes, Horston and Mendjiadeu really brought the hustle, defense, and support. Dulcy scored four points and had three rebounds in the period. Jordan added four more points and six rebounds. And while Dojkić didn’t score over those final minutes, she was running the point and did have two of her three assists in the fourth.

I spoke with Coach Quinn about what she liked from their performances to close out the game.

“All of them played hard. They played with effort and energy. Everything wasn’t perfect but the fact that we were in the game and continued to stay in the game when Jewell was out is just a testament to how hard they were playing. Jordan gave us extra possessions with her rebounding. She got some bunnies in the paint which was great. It was just her energy, her effort, and her defensive mentality today. She was guarding multiple positions and was locked in.” Quinn answered.

“Ivy (Ivana Dojkić) had some big shots. I thought again she was super solid. There were a couple of mistakes down the stretch. But again this is a growth process.” She added.

What Could a Loyd Injury Mean?

The worst thing that happened in this game is that Jewell Loyd badly rolled her ankle a couple of minutes into the fourth quarter and would not return to finish the game. It appeared her ankle just rolled as she went to cut near midcourt. She remained on the ground in pain for a few minutes before being helped to the back. Loyd was able to walk, albeit with a limp which is a positive sign overall.

I don’t believe this is an injury that will knock Loyd out for the season. But she might be out for a few games at a minimum. If that is the case, what will that mean for the Storm to be without the WNBA’s leading scorer?

For a team that sits near the bottom of the WNBA standings, losing their best player certainly isn’t going to make things any easier. If Loyd is out for several games, it’ll be a major challenge for the rest of the roster to step their game up significantly.

This may be a blessing in disguise for a few different reasons.

First, this is going to force all 11 other members of the roster to play even harder and take their games to another level. They will be forced to pick up the slack. Players like Sami Whitcomb, Kia Nurse, and Jordan Horston will all need to look to score even more.

One of my previous concerns with Gabby Williams joining the team was that it could take away playing time and development opportunities from rookie Jordan Horston. If Loyd is out for several games and Gabby is ready to return, Seattle is going to need both players to play plenty of minutes.

Nurse is another player who has been very hot and cold this season. Prior to Saturday’s contest against the Liberty, Nurse has been a good scorer for Seattle reaching double figures in three of her last four games. But in this game, she had just three points on 1-6 FG shooting. In the other game where she didn’t hit double-digits, she had just three shot attempts in 23 minutes and finished with three points in that game.

I feel Nurse could really build her confidence more if she’s getting more playing time and being asked to score more in Loyd’s absence. Playing only 15 minutes isn’t enough time to develop or get into any type of rhythm.

Another problem we’ve seen this season with the Storm is their over-reliance on Jewell. Sometimes the offense stops moving, players stop setting screens, players sit and watch Loyd, players stop cutting and they all just sit around in hopes that Jewell will take over. Because Loyd is so talented, that’s worked out for the team at certain points of the season.

However, if they don’t have Jewell to use as a crutch. The other players will be forced to do all the right things all the time. They will be forced to move with and without the basketball. Set screens for their teammates and play team basketball. If they are without Jewell for several games, they will learn how to play more as a team. Ideally, when Loyd comes back they will be able to play a better brand of basketball.

Whitcomb spoke about that after the game on how the team had to adjust with Loyd missing most of the fourth quarter.

“Those moments are tough obviously. A lot of times it’s hard to snap back into it because emotionally you’re feeling for your teammate. When it’s someone like Jewell who carries a big load for us, it is a big blow. But we need to find ways to score with her off the court or even when she’s on the court and they give her so much attention. I thought this was such a great opportunity for us to do that. We talked about it in that moment, our greatest ally in that moment was going to be ball movement, setting screens, and making them work. I thought we did a good job of making the right read and finding the open person.” Sami answered.

Lastly, if Loyd has to miss multiple games this will help the Storm’s front office learn more about their team. Jewell is an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2024. She will be heavily recruited by several other WNBA teams around the country. I wouldn’t be surprised if Stewie does a full-court press to recruit Loyd to join her in New York. Don’t forget that Jewell also took a visit with the Tsai’s (Liberty owners) during the 2022 off-season. Jonquel Jones, Stefanie Dolson, and Betnijah Laney will all be Unrestricted Free Agents in 2024. New York could let one of them walk and sign Loyd in their place.

If the Storm are unable to re-sign Loyd beyond this season. Her absence will at least give General Manager Talisa Rhea a better idea of the team’s deficiencies. It’ll be easier to know where to address team needs through the draft and in Free Agency.

With other players having to step up, it’ll also teach Rhea which players may be able to take on an expanded role and produce more with upgraded playing time in the future.

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (4-14) travel to the Nation’s Capital, Washington D.C. They will face the Washington Mystics (10-7) on Tuesday, July 11th at 4:00 PM.

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