Seattle's starters lead the Storm past the Mystics 85-71

The starting lineup scored 76 points to lead the team to victory.

(Seattle, WA) - Seattle returned home victorious as they handed the Washington Mystics their second-straight loss 85-71. It was the Storm’s starters that carried the team as four of them scored in double figures. Seattle has now won six of their last seven games to improve to 11-6 on the season.

Jewell Loyd led the team in scoring with 22 points including shooting 75% (6-8 FG) from beyond the arc. Ezi Magbegor continues to grow before our very eyes. She had 20 points, five rebounds, and two blocks in this game. Breanna Stewart nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. And Sue Bird continues her magic adding 12 points and a team-high eight assists. In total, Seattle’s starters accounted for 89% of the team’s points. They outscored Washington’s starters 76 to 53.

“I thought there was good effort all around. Offensively, we got into a good flow early. Defensively, I thought we were locked in. Understanding, that Elena is a load. But I thought we were very attentive to detail with our schemes. It’s always great to score 85 but also the 25 assists and (only) 10 turnovers are amazing as well. Jewell was a +25, amazing! It feels good to come back and win at home against a very good Washington team.” Coach Noelle Quinn said in her opening statement after the game.

Seattle’s young core of Stewart, Loyd, and Magbegor all had tremendous games. And I asked Coach Quinn to evaluate their performances.

“I’ll start with Jewell, +25, that tells us she’s active. When she’s on the floor, good things are happening. I think about snap pictures of Jewell defensively what she was doing; sacrificing her body, trying to take charges. When Jewell is clicking on both ends of the floor we’re better.

With Ezi’s activity, obviously the blocked shots. Her pace in running the floor, getting good looks and finishing around the rim. Just her physicality, she’s continued to grow and get better. You look at the stat sheet and you see 20 (points). Sometimes it’s a silent 20. But it’s very efficient. She helps us in so many ways.

Then Stewie almost gets a triple-double. Not just the points but the rebounding and assisting. The defensive activity, she was guarding Elena the majority of the game. They switched a couple of times where Ezi was on her. Just her activity around the rim and her ability to finish plays with rebounding.

I’m trying to have one of those three on the court at all times, as much as possible in games. It’s important and it shows because they are stat sheet fillers.” Quinn explained.

Stewie also complimented Ezi’s performance after the game as Magbegor played a game-high 36 minutes.

“Ezi is really continuing to develop in this league and especially with us in year 3. Coming in and taking on a much bigger role with Cedes being in and out of our lineup. She’s making the right reads. She’s understanding what teams are doing defensively. A lot of slips to the basket and she’s just finishing strong, finishing well through contact. 36 minutes, that’s pretty high. But we needed her out there tonight and she did her job.” Stewart added.

Defensively, the Storm were solid limiting Washington to just 37% FG shooting (26-70). Seattle shot 46% (31-68) but more importantly made 46% from the three-point range (12-26). Seattle had a 25-19 advantage in assists. And an impressive 20-4 edge in fast break points. Another key was limiting their mistakes. They committed just eight turnovers including only two in the first half.

I spoke with Jewell after the game about the importance of taking care of the ball.

“That’s one of our goals coming into every game is making sure we protect the ball. I think we’re very good when we do that. When we limit their transition points. Protecting the ball, I had too many turnovers in my eyes. But as a team, that’s the biggest thing to make sure we protect the ball. We want to score the ball and we can’t do that if we’re turning it over.” Loyd stated.

The Washington Mystics

The Mystics had four players score in double figures and were led by Elena Delle Donne who had 20 points. I was a little surprised to see Delle Donne travel all the way out to Seattle as she has not been traveling with the team for very many road games in order to protect her back. Delle Donne had back surgery last season and played in just three games total in 2021.

With Delle Donne traveling to Seattle and putting up impressive numbers, I asked Stewie and Coach Quinn if the win meant a little more considering she played, put up good numbers, and Seattle still won by double digits.

“I think what Washington is going through with Elena, obviously you want to see her healthy. She’s in and out of the lineup. No matter what, we knew we were going to face a tough DC team. They’ve picked up solid wins. We knew they were going to throw everything they had at us. It’s nice to see us carry over from the road trip. The key is to continue our momentum into the All-Star break.” Stewart told me.

“I think it means a little bit more solely because that’s a good team. Not just that she traveled here specifically. But more knowing with her on the floor and the firepower they have we were still able to sustain and get the win. When she’s on the floor she’s amazing.” Quinn added.

Myisha Hines-Allen scored 12 points off the bench. She also had six rebounds. Both Alysha Clark and Ariel Atkins scored 11 points for the Mystics. Clark continued to show off her all-around game with eight rebounds and four assists.

Rookie Shakira Austin didn’t have the best shooting night but still looked more than capable out there. She scored eight points and had a team-high nine rebounds including four on the offensive glass.

I spoke to Coach Quinn about what she saw from the talented rookie.

“Yeah, good energy! Strong. She’s fearless. I know she said that with Holly Rowe. You love to see that in a young player. The confidence that is needed to sustain in this league because she puts the work in. Her pace was good. Her physicality. She has good touch around the rim. She’s a very good young athlete.” Quinn responded.

Washington was strong on the boards out-rebounding Seattle 43-36.

Game Breakdown

Ariel Atkins and Alysha Clark made back-to-back baskets to begin the game. Sue Bird was able to drive the lane and draw the foul as she made both free throws. Shakira Austin and Ezi Magbegor exchanged baskets as two of the brightest young players were on display.

Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart connected on back-to-back three-pointers to give Seattle their first lead of the game at 10-8. Elena Delle Donne answered back with a three of her own. Washington regained the lead on a pair of Shakira Austin free throws.

Seattle used a 7-0 run to take a six-point lead at 21-15. It was capped off with a Jewell Loyd triple after Gabby Williams collected the offensive rebound. Myisha Hines-Allen buried a three on the other end to cut into the lead.

Jantel Lavender hit a big three and Jewell was able to drive and draw a foul against Alysha Clark for a pair of foul shots. EDD scored for Washington and Hines-Allen was able to draw a foul with 0.2 seconds left where she converted the free throws.

Seattle led 28-22 after one quarter of play. Loyd led Seattle with eight points. Delle Donne led all scorers with nine points in the opening period.

Stephanie Talbot got on the board early in the 2nd quarter by driving the ball on a fast break and burying a mid-range jumper.

Ezi had a nice spin move in the low post against Delle Donne to put Seattle up eight. But Tianna Hawkins responded with a three-point basket on the other end. Delle Donne was able to get past Magbegor to cut the Storm’s lead down to three. EDD is so fundamentally sound and her game is so fun to watch!

Washington retook the lead, 37-36, on back-to-back three-pointers by Hines-Allen and Natasha Cloud.

Seattle used a 10-0 run to finish the first half and took a nine-point lead 46-37 into the locker rooms. Five points came from Loyd, three from Stewie, and two from Ezi during that run.

Loyd led the Storm in scoring in the first half with 13 points. Magbegor added 12 points and Stewart contributed with ten points. Delle Donne led the Mystics with 13 points and Hines-Allen added eight points off the bench through two quarters.

Seattle did an excellent job of taking care of the basketball committing just two turnovers while forcing Washington into six turnovers.

The Storm committed two turnovers in the first two possessions of the 2nd half. First Gabby had the ball ripped away by Atkins and then Jewell was called for a questionable offensive foul.

Washington scored the first four points of the quarter before Sue Bird responded with a three. Alysha Clark answered right back with a three of her own. But then Seattle went on an 8-0 run with Breanna Stewart scoring, then Gabby and Jewell both connecting from beyond the arc. This put the Storm up by 13 points, 57-44, and Washington Coach Mike Thibault needed a timeout.

They scored four straight points out of the timeout. Washington went on a 13-6 run to cut the Storm’s 13-point lead down to six at 63-57. Ariel Atkins had seven points during that span.

Magbegor and Jantel Lavender made layups to end the quarter and put Seattle up ten points at 67-57. Loyd led Seattle with 22 points and Delle Donne led the Mystics with 17 points through three quarters.

Alysha Clark had a beautiful steal for Washington on Seattle’s first possession and took it all the way for two. Myisha Hines-Allen made a short shot, then EDD and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough made back-to-back triples to cut Seattle’s 10-point lead down to just two at 69-67. The Mystics opened the 4th quarter on a 10-2 run.

At this point, Coach Quinn called timeout and brought back the rest of the starters except for Williams. The impact was immediately noticeable as Sue Bird found Ezi for a wide-open cut to the basket and passed the ball to Stewart for a three. Bird then hit a three of her own putting the Storm back up eight points. A play later, Bird dribbled up the court and beautifully placed the ball just past the defense to Stewie who caught it in stride and laid it in. Stewart was also fouled and completed the three-point play.

With Bird and the starters back in they quickly built an 11-point lead of 80-69. Ultimately, they outscored Washington 16-4 over the final seven minutes of the game. Their defense was very impressive. Bird scored five points, had four assists, and a steal as Seattle closed out the game. Stewie scored seven points during that time.

Seattle won the game 85-71.

I spoke with Stewie after the game about how they finished the game.

“We just really wanted to lock into our schemes. I think that we were switching and rotating out, and sometimes going a little further than we needed to be. A few miscues. But then pushing the pace. DC wants to bring it up and call a play and we want to play faster.”

Coach Quinn then added.

“We got stops, we contested their shooters. We rebounded well. We got very good looks. We played with pace.”

Additional Analysis

Bird Wows Her Teammates and Coach

Sue Bird has wowed fans for two decades in Seattle. And yet it never gets old. The way she orchestrates the offense. The way she finds her teammates. Her passing ability is some of the best I’ve ever seen in the WNBA or the NBA. PERIOD. She is able to thread the needle between multiple defenders and make it look so easy. She’ll put the ball in the perfect place and some of the time she isn’t even looking in that direction. Her play is certainly a sight to behold. And any basketball fan can appreciate the wizardry Bird does on a basketball court.

She completely took over the game in that final period. She scored or assisted on 14 of the team’s final 16 points. Her handprints were all over this win.

After the game, I spoke to Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd about what goes through their minds when Sue is making these incredible passes.

“Some of them we expect and some of them are like ‘WHOA!’ I’ll never forget the one in 2018 where she threw it behind her head. She needs to bring that back.” Stewart said.

Loyd added that one was ‘dirty’ and that Bird’s passing ability is unreal.

“She knows how to pick apart defenses. Knowing late-game situations or whatever it is, she gets us going and she understands what we need to run. Sometimes if we haven’t scored in a while, it’s ‘Sue what do we got?’ She’s a threat, you have to guard her. We were just happy at the end that she got her (one-leg) runner. She’s been working on that all season (in practice). She’s still progressing, she still wants to get better at her game too. We see her hunger every day in practice and that makes us better. She’s an OG for a reason.” Loyd added.

Coach Quinn was also asked about Bird’s wow factor.

“I’ve been around Sue for a long time. On the floor when I see it, I’m still like ‘whoa’ under my breath because it’s amazing. Because the vision she has to deliver passes on time. But also, it’s a skill. Not everybody can do that. It blows my mind and I see it every day in practice. There’s a reason why she’s the assist leader in the league.” Quinn said.

All-Star Nominations

Congratulations to Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart for being named to the WNBA All-Star team. The starters have been announced and they made the list. Bird has now made 13 All-Star appearances which leads the WNBA all-time. Breanna Stewart was named to her 4th All-Star game. Per Seattle PR, she’s been named to the All-Star team every single year that it was actually possible. Basically, every year that wasn’t an Olympic year (except 2021 because they changed the rule), and in 2019 when she missed the entire season with a torn Achilles.

I also talked with Stewie about the upcoming release of her Puma Signature shoe.

“We’re going to launch it at All-Star (break). So I’ll be wearing my shoe for the All-Star (game). I’m really excited about that. I’m really excited for the release. And hopefully, everybody loves it.” she said.

Alysha Clark Scores 2,000

Congratulations to Alysha Clark who scored her 2,000th career WNBA points Thursday night against the Storm. It’s almost appropriate that it was against Seattle as around 1,900 of those points came in a Seattle Storm uniform.

Clark signed with the Mystics in 2021 but missed the entire season with a Lisfranc foot injury. It’s great to see her back on the court this year and playing well. She’s such a great two-way player as she scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and had the defensive assignment against Jewell Loyd.

Loyd was asked after the game about playing against her former teammate.

“That was my first time playing against her since she left. Practice is different. She’s obviously one of the best defenders in the league. She makes it physical. She knows us so well, she knows our tendencies as well. I tried to do my best to get open and make things happen. Just for the record, I won Rock-Paper-Scissors against her. I won. Make sure that’s known (Stewie chimes in - ‘Make sure that’s on the front page’).

(I asked Loyd what did she choose) … For the first round I had scissors and the next round I had paper. She lost both so she’s (Alysha Clark) is clearly out of touch.” Loyd told the media.

Coach Quinn also chimed in with her thoughts.

“On the last play, I joked with her and asked her ‘what are you going to run?’ I think for me it’s amazing to see her playing at a high level coming back from her injury. Knowing the outside noise, ‘it’s hard to come back from’, ‘she wouldn’t be the same’, etc. She’s so effective still. Of course, I don’t like that she’s on the opposite end. Again, as her friend, not the coach of the Storm, Noelle as a person, I think it’s amazing to see her elevating that team and playing at such a high level.” Quinn told me.

The Storm Should Make a Move

The WNBA Trade Deadline is July 15. However the Mid-Season Cut Down Date is June 24th. That means non-guaranteed contracts become guaranteed after Friday.

Friday the 24th is the last day a team can cut players on unprotected contracts in order to sign a different player.

Back in Minnesota, the Lynx just re-instated both Natalie Achonwa and Sylvia Fowles to the active roster. By doing so, they were forced to cut rookie Nikolina Milić who was signed to a hardship contract. Milić has been a very pleasant surprise for the Lynx this season. And when given extended minutes she has really made the most of them.

In the five games that Milić was given 20+ minutes of playing time, she averaged 14.6 PPG and 6.0 RPG.

My understanding is that with Fowles and Achonwa activated, the Lynx can’t afford to re-sign Milić to a rest-of-the-season contract even if they wanted to. If that is indeed true, Storm General Manager Talisa Rhea should swoop in and take action!

We really don’t know the extent of Mercedes Russell’s health problems. We don’t know if she’ll be back to her normal production numbers at all this season. Right now, we also don’t know how many more games she will have to miss this season.

What we do know is that without Mercedes the Storm have struggled to rebound and defend the paint. They have also lacked a consistent bench scorer this season.

Milić plays the Center position and at 6’3” has good height. Despite this being her rookie season, the 28-year-old Serbian has proven she can compete at this level and put up some solid numbers.

I think one could make the argument that the Storm could get more use out of her than from either Jantel Lavender or Reshanda Gray at this point. This is a move that could potentially bolster the bench.

My understanding is Seattle would have to cut one of their non-guaranteed contracts (most likely Gray) in order to make any additional moves. If they could acquire Milić, I think that would be a move worth making.

Jersey Count

As the Storm returned home they wore their “Rebel” black uniforms. With another win, they improved to 5-1 on the season while wearing this jersey combination. The Storm improved to 11-6 on the season and remain as the 4th seed behind the Las Vegas Aces (13-3), Chicago Sky (12-5), and Connecticut Sun (12-6).

Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 5-1
Explorer: 1-3
Heroine: 5-2
Overall Record: 11-6

Up Next

The Storm will have three more home games before going back out on the road. Their next game is Saturday (6/25) at 6:00 PM against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Notes:
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Photo Credits to Neil Enns/Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography Team
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