Storm blast past the Lynx in the 2nd half win 97-74
Seattle's depth proved to be too much for Minnesota.
(Seattle, WA) - The Climate Pledge Arena era is off to a great start as the Seattle Storm made easy work of the Minnesota Lynx beating their Western Conference rivals by 23 points by a final score of 97-74.
“I thought the effort was great! The energy from the team, from the fans, the building - we didn’t get off to a great start but we turned it up in the 3rd quarter. I thought our bench was amazing for us. They gave us a huge boost, everyone contributed and everyone scored. We have some things to tighten up, but overall for the first game I’m super happy with the effort and the outcome obviously.” Coach Quinn told reporters after the game.
The Storm did what they’ve often done when they’re at their very best. They kept a high pace and bombarded their opponent with three-pointers and easy fastbreak points. Seattle connected on 12-25 FG (48%) from beyond the arc while Minnesota shot just 4-21 (19%) on three-point attempts. Seattle also held a 23-5 advantage in fastbreak points.
I spoke to Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart after the game about that.
“We pride ourselves on being in shape. Wearing people down in the 4th quarter and pushing the pace as much as we can. That’s always been our MO. If the other team is tired and we still have a little bit left in the tank. We’re able to do that because the people that come off the bench, they’re dogs too, we don’t look at them as less than our starters. They’re a part of who we are. We push the pace knowing we have reinforcements coming behind us. Our bench deserves more credit than they get!” Loyd said after the game.
“I think that our game plan is to push the pace as much as possible. Usually, teams can stick with us through the first half but then it’s the 3rd quarter and the 4th quarter where we really wear on teams. In the 3rd quarter, I’m not sure how many three’s we had but when you get hit with those three’s it’s tough (to deal with).” Stewart told me. “Look at our roster, we have a ton of depth. We showed that tonight and we’ll continue to take advantage of that throughout this season.”
Tied 41-41 at the midway point the Storm used an 18-2 run through the first five minutes of the third period to blow this game open. Seattle never looked back as they’d push their lead to 30 points before the end of the night.
This was a balanced effort and a sign of the team’s depth. Five players scored in double figures including Jewell Loyd (17 points), Breanna Stewart (17), Epiphanny Prince (13), Sue Bird (11), and Stephanie Talbot (11).
The bench outscored Minnesota 39-26. Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird sat the entire 4th quarter with the game in hand. No player on Seattle’s roster played more than 26 minutes (Stewie) in this game.
“That’s a really good team. Their bench absolutely destroyed us. Anytime you’re playing a team on their floor as good as Seattle, you can’t give them easy stuff.” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said after the game.
I asked Coach Quinn to talk about the depth of the team and the impact the bench had during Friday’s game.
“They’re pros. Steph Talbot has had an amazing training camp, she’s been very steady. Piph hasn’t had a training camp in a long time and she’s reminded me of that. And Jantel is the ultimate professional, coming in seamlessly, working hard every day. That grit and that dog mentality, she has that. They’ve been playing in the league a long time but to put everything together, there’s the familiarity of one another but camp brought that. It’s just the work they’ve put in. The energy, the effort, and the intensity have never wavered. And you see that coming to light in this game. Piph, when given the opportunity, can play with the best of them in year 13. Steph is excelling in her role and the confidence level of everyone helps that as well.” Coach Quinn told me in response to the impressive 39-point performance by the bench.
I’m sure not all the games will be like this but the balanced attack by Seattle and their depth will be pivotal to the team’s success this season. A big issue with the team’s drop-off last season (even before Stewart was injured) was that they simply ran out of gas in the 2nd half after the Tokyo Olympic break. Seattle went 2-5 during the first seven games back after the break which was a big reason they dropped from the number one seed down to 4th overall at the end of the year; putting them in a single-elimination game.
While the single-elimination game won’t be a concern this season as the WNBA got rid of them. The Storm must balance their minutes so they can hit their peak entering the final month and into the playoffs.
The Lynx
Minnesota was led by Sylvia Fowles and Aerial Powers as the only two players to score in double figures. Fowles at times was dominant down low and the absence of Mercedes Russell was pretty apparent. Once Fowles got deep position it was already over and she’d convert an easy two. This helped give the Lynx a 42-32 edge with points in the paint for this game.
Powers was hot early and was a large factor that allowed Minnesota to build a 10-point lead in the first quarter. Aerial scored all 14 of her points in the first half. She went 0-4 in the 2nd half and played just six minutes through the final two quarters as Seattle started to run away with the game.
The Lynx did outrebound Seattle 37 to 29 in this game.
Game Breakdown
Jewell Loyd scored the first official basket in Climate Pledge Arena history. Both teams got off to a slow start with the Lynx taking a 10-6 lead from back-to-back three-pointers by Aerial Powers and Jessica Sheppard.
Fowles and Powers scored again to give Minnesota a 14-8 lead with four minutes to play in the first quarter. Seattle was not sharp to begin this game missing several shots.
The Lynx went on an 8-0 run before Jantel Lavender knocked down a deep jumper to stop the bleeding. Seattle’s bench came in and played well. Stephanie Talbot made some nice plays. She had a block earlier and then to end the quarter had a huge block that then led to a fastbreak layup to finish the quarter. It was extremely impressive! The Storm finished the first period on an 8-2 run to pull within two points at 20-18.
Seattle was sloppy in the first quarter turning the ball over five times. That was the biggest difference between the two teams as they actually shot the ball better 7-14 for 50% FG while Minnesota was 9-22 FG (41%).
Three-pointers by Stephanie Talbot and Jewell Loyd helped Seattle build their biggest lead of the first half at 31-26. Sylvia Fowles continued to do damage down low for Minnesota but Jantel Lavender responded with a three of her own.
Minnesota used a 13-3 to regain the lead at 39-34. Seattle rallied to tie the game at 41-41 after Bird hit a three and Ezi Magbegor was able to get a putback layup. Both teams shot roughly the same with the home team at a slight advantage (SEA: 16-37 FG for 43% and MIN: 17-40 FG 42.5%).
Coach Noelle Quinn must have really laid into the players at halftime because the Storm came out on fire to begin the third period. Seattle quickly took a seven-point lead that was capped off by a beautiful steal by Magbegor and an uncontested layup; this forced Coach Cheryl Reeve to call a timeout. The Storm extended it to ten points at 51-41, their first double-digit lead of the game.
The play of the game had to be Sue Bird tossing the ball deep from the backcourt all the way to Loyd for the alley-oop. You’ll definitely want to watch that one again!
Jewell’s impressive AND1 gave the Storm a 57-43 lead. The Storm turned a tied game into a near-20 point lead through the first five minutes of the third period as the Storm led 59-43.
Their three-point shooting and fast pace quickly allowed them to bombard the Lynx. Minnesota simply couldn’t keep up with what Seattle was throwing at them. Sue Bird and Jewell Loyd really took their game to another level in the quarter, continuing to attack and push the pace. Loyd had nine and Bird finished with eight points in the quarter. The two of them by themselves outscored the Lynx in the period.
Seattle outscored Minnesota 34-14 in the third period to lead by 20 points through three quarters of play. Epiphanny Prince drained a three at the end of the quarter to give the Storm their largest lead of the game.
Sylvia Fowles and the Lynx wouldn’t go away as they continued to battle Seattle despite trailing by 20 into the 4th quarter.
Breanna Stewart went to work in the 4th quarter scoring ten of her 17 points in the final frame. While the Storm’s bench continued to look excellent as Prince scored eight in the fourth.
Bridge Carleton had some nice plays late for Minnesota. Jessica Shepard had a solid game as well scoring nine points, pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds, and dishing out five assists. I really liked Shepard coming out of college and it’s good to see her healthy and playing in the WNBA again.
Epiphanny Prince led Seattle’s bench unit with 13 points off the bench on 5-6 FG shooting. She was 5-5 until missing her final attempt in the last 30 seconds of the game.
Additional Analysis
Defense Wins Championships!
Stephanie Talbot, Gabby Williams, and Briann January all had noticeable plays on the defensive end of the court on Friday night. Williams and January were specifically brought onto this team for this very reason. Seattle wanted to get tougher, wanted to improve their defense, and although it’s just one game the blueprint is there.
Some defensive numbers overall, Seattle had 14 steals and NINE blocked shots. Talbot had two blocks, Gabby had two, and January had three! By comparison, Minnesota had nine steals and just three blocks in this game.
I asked Jewell after the game about the new additions in Williams, January, and Lavender and their impact on the game.
“I think it’s very evident the impact they have on our team, so early, so fast. Jantel’s been an amazing screener and her ability to pick and pop. Even her presence down low. She had a phenomenal camp. The same thing with Gabby and Bri, their defensive presence is always there we know that, but they are so versatile. They’re able to push the pace. They’ve been amazing and I’m excited for their talent to rise. They’re not done yet, as athletes, and I think they’re really going to excel here in Seattle” Loyd told me.
“The addition of Gabby and Briann brings us some extra defensive toughness and tenacity. They’re amazing two-way players is really something we can thrive off of because obviously, you know we want to score. But we’re investing a lot more into our defense and taking advantage of that. If we can’t score, we don’t want the other team to score either.” Stewart added.
Seattle held Minnesota to under 40% FG shooting for the game as the Lynx shot 31-79 FG (39%) and just 4-21 (19%) from beyond the three-point line. Sylvia Fowles and Nina Milic were the only Lynx players to shoot over 50% in this game.
Even with Assistant Coach Gary Kloppenburg now gone from the team, they still bring a lot of that defensive intensity he instilled in them and the new additions are just going to make Seattle even better.
Storm Crazies had CPA Rocking!
When asked what she noticed from that 18-2 run to begin the 3rd quarter Breanna Stewart simply said, “The Fans.”
“To be honest that’s what we’ve really been missing in Seattle since we haven’t been here since 2018. You know we’re going on that run when it’s a three, three, three, and the place is rocking. The other team, they have to call a timeout or they’re not going to be able to get what they want.” Stewart added.
Coach Quinn called it electric. Breanna Stewart mentioned the first thing she noticed when the team went on their big run. Jewell Loyd talked about how important it was to be back home at Seattle Center.
The fans were loud, the fans were excited, and the team took notice. The attendance was announced as 12,904. While I hope Storm fans can fill all the lower bowl seats as the season goes on this was a great start.
The team had previously announced that they had nearly 4,000 season ticket holders this year which was a new all-time record. And they saw the biggest increase in new season ticket holders this year as well.
This team deserves a crazy, loud, rabid fan base at every game and opening night was made special not just because of the excellent action on the court but due to the electric environment brought on by the fans.
Jersey Count
The Storm start the 2022 season off in the Rebel black uniforms. The team went 6-5 in their black jerseys last season including the one playoff game (loss) to the Phoenix Mercury. They start this year off on the right foot winning their first game by 23 points.
Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 1-0
Explorer: 0-0
Heroine: 0-0
Overall Record: 1-0
Up Next
While I think it’s too early to talk about bragging rights or this next game being a Finals preview, it will be an excellent test to see where both teams stand as the Storm head to Las Vegas on Sunday, May 8th to face off against the Aces. Las Vegas looked excellent in their season debut dismantling the short-handed Phoenix Mercury 106-88. Vegas led 31-17 after the first period and 54 to 32 at the midway point as they cruised to an easy victory.
Seattle should provide a better test for them and it should be a very exciting game.
The game airs at 7:00 PM and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
Notes: I greatly appreciate all the new subscribers I’ve gained over the past few months and the ones that have been supporting me since Day 1. Please refer all your friends that love the WNBA and enjoy in-depth coverage of the Storm and the league overall.
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Photo Credits to Neil Enns/Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography.
My $60 investment put me in the 2nd tier at CPA and so far away from the court (but as close as 2nd tier would allow), that I could stay home and see the game better. We didn’t encounter even one usher to help us find our seats. I loved being there in real time but…aside from that factor, it was a disappointing experience for me. Your recap is great, as usual. I love opening my e-mail to find your posts waiting.
Great column, Jeff. I especially appreciated your including the Bird-to-Jewell basket; watched it about 10 times. It brought the fans to a standing ovation. The player comments that you got -- Jewell and Noey, particularly -- are always my favorite; thanks.