Storm Cool Off Mercury 80-62

Seattle earns their 5th win in a row.

(Seattle, WA) - The Seattle Storm extended their win streak to five games after taking care of business at home against the Phoenix Mercury. Seattle jumped out to a 25-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and next looked back. They were able to cruise past the Mercury with an 80-62 victory. The team improved to 6-3 on the season and 1-0 in Commissioner’s Cup play.

The Storm were without Nneka Ogwumike. She was a late scratch for an eye issue. This was the third game that Ogwumike has missed this season. The first two were from a minor ankle injury she suffered in the second game against Minnesota.

Despite being without arguably their best player, Seattle was never threatened by the Mercury. Ezi Magbegor stepped up big in Ogwumike’s absence. Magbegor finished with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds. She also had three blocked shots and two steals to continue her Defensive Player of the Year Campaign.

Coach Noelle Quinn praised her young center after the game.

“I thought she was very aggressive. I thought her pace was really good. Ezi is a defensive anchor and her agility and aggressiveness jump starts what we do on offense. When we're playing in transition and we're playing in space, she's really good. She catches a lot of balls. She has really good hands. She has some tough finishes. But, again, there's an energy level to her that we really fed off of.” Quinn stated.

These past few days have been a media circus regarding the unfair physical contact that Caitlin Clark has received since joining the WNBA. However, we’ve learned that Clark is not an exclusive member of this club. Skylar Diggins-Smith took an elbow to the face while trying to defend Kahleah Copper from driving to the rim. Diggins-Smith's mouth was filled with blood and she had to leave the game to get treatment. Skylar talked with the media after the game about that. And how the team was able to overcome the adversity of literally being popped in the mouth.

“I'm good. I'm good. I'm a big girl. I've been in this league a long time. I done took shots, got stitches at halftime; didn't need stitches tonight. But yeah, that's how it goes. Our league is physical. I think we've seen that. Those that didn't understand that, understand that now, I guess. This is a very physical league, and so this comes with it. I welcome the physicality. And yeah, I'm okay. I thought it went well tonight. Obviously, we were led by Ezi tonight. I thought she started this out really well and just a Steady Betty the rest of the game. Defensively set the tone right away with a blocked shot and led us in plus-minus today, so everything was well when she was on the floor for us. But yeah, I thought it was a good game in the first half. We can do better with finishing quarters. And in the (fourth) quarter, we started to struggle, we didn't score, but we held them as well. And so defensively, I feel like we're still growing. We're still building off our defensive games that we've had these past four or five games. And obviously, with no Nneka, you saw people stepping up and stepping into different roles for us. And I thought it was a great game for us to start out Commissioner’s Cup, holding them under 20 for three quarters.” Diggins-Smith said.

Skylar Diggins-Smith added 17 points including nine in the second quarter where she lived at the foul line. Diggins-Smith was a perfect 7-7 FT during that period. Jewell Loyd added 15 points, seven rebounds, and a team-high six assists. Loyd had an off-shooting night (5-17 FG) but contributed in other ways to help lead her team to the win. Victoria Vivians had arguably her best game of the season adding 10 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Horston also added seven points and six rebounds off the bench.

Seattle outshot Phoenix 41% (28-69 FG) to 34% (23-68 FG). They also limited the Mercury to 17% (4-23 FG) from beyond the arc while making 35% (8-23 FG) of their long-distance shots. The Storm out-rebounded them 42-33. They limited Phoenix to just three offensive rebounds. The home team had a 38-32 edge with points in the paint.

Coach Quinn praised her team’s defensive efforts.

“We're going to hang our hat on defense, and that's where we're always going to start. When we can't score, we at least have to prevent other teams from scoring. Yeah, I don't like a five-minute drought of not scoring. And plus, this week or so, two weeks, whatever it is, is Commissioner Cup. And so the emphasis is that every possession matters, and I don't wanna put pressure on them to have to score. But there has to be more intention behind what we do offensively, especially if we understand the rules around Commissioner Cup and what we want to accomplish. But again, I'm super proud of how our defense continues to sustain us through our droughts.” Quinn explained.

I also spoke with Ezi Magbegor about the team’s defensive execution in this game to hold Phoenix to a poor shooting night and just 62 points.

“Just being aggressive defensively. I think a lot of the time we want our defense to lead into our offense. So I think it makes it easy to focus on one thing, and that was defense. And Phoenix is a great team. They've been shooting well to start the season. So we knew they were going to get a lot of threes up, run the floor. So just stopping what we knew that they were good at.” Ezi added.

Phoenix Mercury

The Mercury’s small-ball lineup was not effective against Seattle. Seattle was able to lock them up for the most part. While Kahleah Copper eventually got 19 points, similar to Loyd, she did not shoot the ball well. She finished 6-18 FG and was held scoreless for the first 16 minutes of the game (more than 1 1/2 quarters). Copper missed her first six shots of the game before heating up late in the second quarter.

Natasha Cloud was the only other Mercury player to score in double figures with 10 points. She scored all 10 of those points in the first half. She was held scoreless over the final 20 minutes and went 0-6 FG during that time.

After putting up 31 points against the LA Sparks on June 2nd, Diana Taurasi was limited to just seven points on 3-12 FG shooting. During the Seattle media post-game press conference, they praised Victoria Vivians for her defensive job on Taurasi and limiting the damage that DT was able to do.

Phoenix’s bench outscored Seattle’s reserves 20-12. Sug Sutton led the way with eight points. Liz Dixon and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan each added six more points. The Mercury also had the edge in fast break points at 15-11.

Game Breakdown

After a couple of solid defensive possessions, Natasha Cloud drove to the rim in transition for the game’s first basket. Ezi Magbegor and Cloud would swap baskets over the next couple of possessions as each player scored the first four points for their respective teams. Jewell Loyd then got two free throws and a steal and layup to put the Storm up 8-4. Seattle continued their run to build a 10-point lead at 14-4.

Liz Dixon was able to get to the free throw line to end the run. Magbegor collected an offensive rebound and quickly put the ball in the basket. Kiki Herbert Harrigan hit a corner three. Ezi continued to score shooting a perfect 6-6 on her field goal attempts in the first period. Magbegor led all scorers with 13 points in the first 10 minutes. Seattle led 25-12 at the end of the first.

The Mercury started off the second quarter on a much better note. Natasha Cloud picked off a bad pass by Jordan Horston that led to an easy two at the other end. Cloud was then fouled on the next play and made both free throws. That cut Seattle’s lead to single digits at 27-18.

The Storm responded with an 11-0 run. That included multiple scores and free throws from Skylar Diggins-Smith. Victoria Vivians also made a three-point basket in transition. Mercedes Russell converted a layup with an assist from Diggins-Smith. Diana Taurasi ended the run with a deep two-point basket. Natasha Cloud scored two more getting a floater in the lane.

Kahleah Copper scored her first basket of the game late in the second period. She quickly got another. And then another when she muscled Loyd down in the paint. Copper scored all nine of her first-half points in the final three minutes. The Mercury finished the quarter on an 8-0 run but Seattle still led 46-33 at the midway point.

Seattle exploded out of the gate for five points to begin the third quarter as Victoria Vivians drilled another three-pointer and Jewell Loyd found Ezi Magbegor running down the court in transition for two more. Ezi scored again to put the Storm up 20 at 53-33.

The Mercury responded with a Kahleah Copper corner three and a driving layup by Diana Taurasi. Copper hit another three and then Liz Dixon got to the foul line to cut the Storm’s lead down to 14.

Jewell and Ezi scored on back-to-back possessions to put the Storm up 61-43. Jordan Horston knocked down a corner three as Seattle led 64-43 at the end of the third period.

Sophie Cunningham had a nice reverse layup to begin the fourth-quarter scoring. Seattle missed their first six shots to begin the fourth. Seattle was held scoreless through the first five minutes of the final period. Jewell Loyd knocked down a desperation three as the shot clock was set to expire for Seattle’s first basket with just over five minutes remaining.

Sug Sutton scored on three consecutive trips down the court for the Mercury. Loyd responded with another three-ball. Skylar Diggins-Smith had a nice layup through traffic. She also countered another triple from Kahleah Copper by sinking one of her own. Seattle led 77-58 with less than 90 seconds to play in the game.

Dixon and Sutton each scored a layup in the final moments. Coach Quinn subbed Nika Mühl and Kiana Williams in for the final minute and Williams was able to knock down a three-pointer to give the game’s final score of 80-62.

Final Box Score

Additional Analysis

Ezi Magbegor Signs Contract Extension

Before the game tipped off the Seattle Storm announced that they had signed Ezi Magbegor to a contract extension. While the team itself didn’t disclose the specifics, multiple sources have confirmed it’s for $186,000 - fully protected, for one additional season (through 2025). Richard Cohen from HerHoopStats was the first to confirm.

With Ezi back in the fold, that means the team now has three of their “Core Four” under contract through the 2025 season as Jewell Loyd and Skylar Diggins-Smith each signed two-year deals earlier. They also have Jordan Horston and Nika Mühl under their rookie-scale contracts. Those contracts are not guaranteed.

This is really important to get Ezi back under contract because it’ll give Seattle a clearer picture of what they need to do in the 2025 off-season. It’s also important because the Golden State Valkyries will have their expansion draft at some point in late 2024 or early 2025. Seattle will likely only be able to protect 6-8 players.

It’s also important because Ezi Magbegor continues to develop and grow her game. Her floor at this point should be a consistent starter and borderline WNBA All-Star. Her ceiling might be a Top 10 player in the league considering the impact she has on the defensive end of the court. She seriously has the potential to be the best player of Seattle’s “Core Four” because of her efficient offense (she shot 69% in this game), her rebounding ability, and her elite defensive skills.

Like Breanna Stewart before her, Ezi Magbegor is absolutely a player you can build your franchise around.

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Changes

The fourth annual Commissioner’s Cup has returned for the 2024 WNBA season. The Seattle Storm, Las Vegas Aces, and New York Liberty have been the previous winners of the Cup. This year the WNBA has changed how the in-season tournament works. You can watch their video above for an explanation.

Essentially, the tournament is no longer 10-specific games for each Western and Eastern Conference team. Before, the Cup games were the first home and first road games against your five conference rivals. Those games could be spread out between May and August with the Championship game taking place towards the end of August.

This year, the tournament is based on just five games. One game each against your five conference rivals. Because it’s just five games and not an even number, that means some teams will play just two home games and have to deal with three road games. Seattle is one of those teams. They host Phoenix and Los Angeles and have to play on the road against Las Vegas, Minnesota, and Dallas.

All the games will take place during the first two weeks of June. With the Championship game being played at the end of June. The game is no longer held on a neutral court although that change already happened with the previous rules as well. It is hosted by whichever team has the better overall record between the top teams of each conference. For instance, if the Connecticut Sun (9-0) continue to roll and qualify for the Commissioner’s Cup from the Eastern Conference, they will host the game at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Point differential is still one of the tiebreakers so if you see teams running the score up on their lesser opponents, you’ll know why.

With some of the new changes, I spoke with Coach Noelle Quinn about any differences her team has to adjust for.

“Yeah, the urgency changes. So we've talked about it. A transition take foul free throw, a defensive three seconds free throw, a technical foul free throw. All of these points matter because it's only five games. It's important that we really lock into the details of every possession offensively and defensively. Just our urgency level shifts.”

I asked if it impacted rotations as well. For example, playing her starters more for these games.

“Yes, absolutely. I mean, you guys saw, it's about trying to get these points. If it comes to a tiebreaker or whatever, best record, all that, points matter. Points matter.” Quinn added.

Skylar Diggins-Smith also spoke to us about the Commissioner’s Cup.

“Yeah, I thought we did a good job of executing defensively. It wasn't always sexy offensively for us at times. I thought we kind of got the looks that we wanted. Maybe some of them didn't drop tonight. But I like the nature of the shots we were getting. Defensively, like Ezi said, just setting the tone there. And yeah, I thought we took care of business tonight. It's really important too when you talk about Commissioner Cup and you talk about point spread and things like that, which is why they were still trying to score the ball that last possession, because it's point spread in Commissioner Cup. And so it's nice to start out with almost a 20-point win. And just hopefully we can just continue to build after that.” SDS added.

Friday’s game against Las Vegas is critical if Seattle wants to represent the Western Conference. The Aces will be the favorites to return to the Commissioner’s Cup for a third year in a row but Seattle can throw a wrench into those plans if they can steal a game on the road against the defending champs.

Up Next

The Seattle Storm go back on the road for two games, first against the Las Vegas Aces (4-2) on Friday at 7:00 PM PDT and then on Sunday against the Minnesota Lynx (6-2) at 4:00 PM PDT. Seattle needs at least a split if they want to keep up with the top teams in the WNBA. With their win against Phoenix, they moved ahead of the Aces in the WNBA standings because Las Vegas has played so few games (4-2). The Storm currently hold the 4th-best record at 6-3 behind Connecticut (9-0), New York (8-2), and Minnesota (6-2).

Notes:
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