Strong finish lifts Seattle over Indiana 81-65
The Storm used a 33-20 run over the final 13 minutes to pull out the victory!
(Seattle, WA) - Seattle continues to play well winning their 4th game in a row as the Storm completed the season sweep of the Indiana Fever. They used a strong second-half push to finish off the Indiana Fever by a final score of 81-65.
Breanna Stewart led the way again with 25 points and eight rebounds. She also had three assists. The MVP-hopeful who leads the league in scoring continues to play at an elite level.
Both Jewell Loyd and Tina Charles chipped in with 15 points. They both rebounded the ball well with Loyd grabbing five boards and Charles pulling down seven. Charles continues to provide a strong spark off the bench for this team.
“We started the game well and ended the game well. We had a lull in the middle of the game. I thought Gabby and Steph did an amazing job on (Kelsey) Mitchell early on to start. Stewie caught fire. Tina had some great contributions. All in all, it’s difficult sometimes to stay engaged with Indi, but I thought we had appropriate energy and we executed when we needed to.” Coach Noelle Quinn said in her opening remarks after the game.
Seattle had an advantage in nearly every statistical category. Neither team shot the ball well but the Storm were better connecting on 43% (30-70 FG) and 24% (6-25) from beyond the arc. They held Indiana to just 36% (24-66 FG) and 17% (4-24) from the three-point line. Most notably, Seattle out-rebounded the Fever 41-37. The home team had an impressive 26-14 edge in assists. They were better defensively, with a 12-8 edge in steals and a 3-2 lead in blocked shots. The Storm had a 17-6 advantage in fast-break points and outscored the Fever 44-36 inside the paint.
The Indiana Fever
Indiana had three players score in double figures this game. The second overall pick, NaLyssa Smith, led the team with 15 points and nine rebounds. Smith is still a contender for rookie of the year and should be a shoo-in to make the All-WNBA Rookie team.
Her Baylor teammate, Queen Egbo, had another impressive game against Seattle scoring 13 points on 6-10 FG shooting. She also added six rebounds and two steals.
Coach Quinn praised the young duo from Baylor after the game.
“Queen Egbo, just her strength in the middle of the paint. Something you didn’t quite see at Baylor. Her versus our forwards was interesting. I don’t want to say good because she was scoring against us. But it was cool to see a young player going against some vets of this league. NaLyssa Smith is another one. She’s very saucy with the ball. Some things you don’t see in college, she’s shooting the three, getting to the rim, she’s a dog - she goes hard. Those two young players, in particular, are going to have a long career.” Quinn mentioned.
Veteran forward Emma Cannon had a strong performance off the bench for the Fever scoring 14 points on 4-6 FG shooting. She was also 5-6 from the free throw line. Cannon added five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the losing effort.
Game Breakdown
Kelsey Mitchell got a breakaway layup to begin the scoring on Sunday afternoon. Ezi Magbegor was able to respond on the other end for Seattle and then Stewie followed that up with a pair of free throws.
NaLyssa Smith buried a corner three with Stewie’s hand in her face to give the Fever a 6-4 lead early. Stewart and Loyd scored for Seattle while Queen Egbo and Victoria Vivians did for the Fever to keep Indiana ahead 10-8.
The Storm used a 6-0 run to take a small lead at 14-11 midway through the opening quarter. Magbegor scored four of those points with Loyd adding the other two from the foul line.
Seattle would proceed to go on a 15-2 run before Destanni Henderson maneuvered her way through the lane for an impressive layup. Stewart knocked down a three that rattled around the rim before falling in. Both Gabby Williams and Tina Charles each sank a pair of free throws.
Epiphanny Prince was able to take advantage of the Fever being in the foul bonus, knocking down three of her four free throw attempts in the quarter.
At the end of the first period, the Storm finished leading by 11 points with a score of 26-15. Seattle finished on an 18-4 run over the final six minutes of the opening quarter. Breanna Stewart led all scorers with nine points and Ezi Magbegor added six more.
The Fever started the second quarter on an 8-2 run with Emma Cannon and Kelsey Mitchell both connecting on shots from beyond the arc. Cannon also made a long-range two.
Stewart responded back with a pair of her own triples to put the Storm back up 11 points at 34-23. Tina Charles then got an offensive rebound and immediately found a cutting Stewie who finger-rolled it in for two more. Jewell Loyd then made a nice drive to the rim on the following possession to put the Storm up their largest lead of the first half (15 points).
Cannon hit another jumper and Emily Engstler hit a three that allowed the Fever to finish the 2nd quarter on a 5-0. Even still, the Storm would carry a 42-31 lead into the locker rooms.
Stewart led all scorers with 17 points. Loyd followed that with 10 points and Magbegor added eight more. Cannon was the most productive player for the Fever off the bench scoring 12 points.
Queen Egbo was extra impressive to begin the 2nd half scoring six of the team’s eight points to begin the third period which cut the Storm’s 11-point lead down to just five at 44-39. Another stop by the Fever and a fast-break jumper by Danielle Robinson made it a three-point game forcing Coach Noelle Quinn to call timeout.
After the timeout, they got the ball into the low post where Stewart converted a hook shot in the paint. Gabby then got her hands on a deflection which resulted in a fast-break layup for Magbegor.
Robinson and Smith scored four straight for Indiana to cut it back down to three. Indiana would never get any closer than that. After that, Charles had seven-straight points to put the Storm back up double digits at 55-45.
Henderson split a pair of free throws and Kelsey Mitchell was able to blow by Charles as the Fever scored the final three points of the quarter. Seattle led 55-48 as the team’s entered the final period of play.
Stewie opened the fourth with a contested jumper to give her over twenty points for the game. The defense got a stop that led to a Stephanie Talbot corner three. With the Storm up 60-48, the Fever called timeout again.
Talbot had one of the more impressive one-on-one defensive blocks I’ve seen this year against Kelsey Mitchell. It then led to Talbot getting a breakaway where she finished through defenders for the layup.
NaLyssa Smith made back-to-back baskets to help keep the Fever alive. However, then Charles knocked down a mid-range basket and Stewart hit another three, her 4th of the game, to put the Storm back up 15 points at 70-55.
Seattle continued to pour it on with Charles scoring four more in the paint and Jewell knocking down one from long distance. Egbo scored four more for Indiana to give her 13 points for the game.
Gabby Williams laid the ball in with 1:15 left in the game to give the Storm their largest lead at 81-61. Cannon knocked down another pair of free throws and on the final possession NaLyssa Smith dribbled the ball and it appeared she was going to just run out the clock. But as the Storm relaxed on defense, Smith walked right under the basket and scored two more points at the buzzer. When it was all said and done Seattle had won 81-65.
The Storm finished extremely strong over the final 13 minutes as they outscored the Fever 33-20; and really should have been 33-18 if not for Smith’s shot at the buzzer with no one guarding her.
After the game, I spoke with Coach Quinn and Tina Charles about what the team did during that run to secure the victory.
“Our defensive activity. Getting our hands on balls/trapping. Getting easier buckets. We executed. They trapped and we just took advantage of that. I thought we were a little bit sharper.” Quinn answered.
Tina Charles spoke on the keys to closing the game out.
“Just to be as aggressive as we can. Sue and Dee (Diana Taurasi) always say ‘They practice too. They work on their game too.’ And I know they still want to get better regardless of their record and we definitely felt that out there. We have respect for them but we knew what we had to work on. And Stewie led us, it was great momentum in the game.” Charles added.
Additional Analysis
Bird Becomes 3rd All-Time in WNBA Steals
It was announced in the middle of the game that Sue Bird had set yet another milestone in a long list of accomplishments of her storied career. Bird had two steals in the game which pushed her ahead of Alana Beard and into third place in the WNBA’s All-Time Steals list for her career.
While I don’t think anyone would consider Bird a better defender than Beard who was one of the greatest in league history, I do believe Bird doesn’t get enough credit for being the defensive player that she is.
It isn’t just longevity that has resulted in Bird climbing the leaderboards. Sue has always been good about reading defenses, jumping passing lanes, and knowing where to be at the right moments to create those defensive opportunities for herself.
She is arguably the smartest player to have ever played the game. That is something we’re more used to seeing with her offense in how she performs as the floor general. How she dissects defenses and finds the best areas to attack their weak points and find her open teammates. Bird is so cerebral that she can do the same defensively.
I talked with Coach Quinn and Breanna Stewart after the game about what makes Bird an underrated defensive player.
“She plays defense with her mind. She knows angles and where she’s effective. Understanding personnel. Sometimes, you think about the best defensive players being aggressive, being physical, being in bodies and spaces. Sometimes, you don’t think about other defensive players who know the scout, know the schemes, know what the other players are going to run, how they like the ball, and just be in the vicinity of areas to get hands on balls to get steals. Just be aware!” Coach Quinn explained.
Stewart gave her take on Bird’s defensive strengths.
“I think it’s just her court awareness. Everybody knows she knows where everyone is going to be offensively but she knows the same defensively. She knows who she’s guarding, who has the ball, which matchup is the most important, and she puts herself in passing lanes. She’s a defensive stopper.” Stewart said with a smirk.
For those unaware, Stewie has been calling herself a defensive stopper all season long because her own offensive skills often dwarf the recognition of what she can do on the defensive end.
Free-Falling Fever
The Indiana Fever were not expected to be a good team this year. Coming out of training camp they had a roster filled with six rookies. But to the surprise of some, they looked halfway decent through their first four games splitting those contests at 2-2. Shortly after that, they fired Head Coach Marianne Stanley and replaced her with Interim Head Coach Carlos Knox.
Knox won his first game with the team on May 27th, a 101-96 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks. After the game, the team seemed to really rally behind their new coach. However, since then they’ve been in a massive free-fall. Indiana has now lost nine games in a row and 20 out of their last 23.
Indiana will be the first team eliminated from playoff contention this season. They are 6.5 games out of the final playoff spot with just nine games remaining. There’s a good chance they will be officially eliminated by the end of the week.
The suffering will all be worth it if they can win the WNBA Draft Lottery and select Aaliyah Boston out of South Carolina. Boston is the heavy favorite to go number one overall after leading the nation in double-doubles averaging 16.8 PPG and 12.5 RPG during her Junior season with the Gamecocks. She also led the University of South Carolina to their 2nd National Championship in 2022.
It’s Crunch Time!
EVERYTHING is on the line over the final 11 games of the season. The Seattle Storm control their own destiny as they currently own the third-best record in the entire league and they are just two games back from the #1 spot. Seattle plays both the Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces two more times each in these final games. Winning all four of those games would go a long way in securing the top seed.
It won’t be easy. The Storm have one of the most difficult schedules remaining out of all the teams as they’ll face the Sky, Aces, and Washington Mystics two more times each. Five of those six games will be on the road. In total, eight of the final 11 games will be away from Seattle.
However, the team has been rolling since acquiring Tina Charles. After the victory over the Indiana Fever, Seattle is now 6-1 since Charles joined the roster. Of note, their lone loss came against the Atlanta Dream in a morning game after they played in Seattle Friday night and flew across the country the next day before playing in Atlanta roughly 36 hours after they had last played. Whether you want to chalk that up as an excuse or a legit reason for their only loss is up to you. But they have yet to lose a game with Tina Charles under more “normal” circumstances.
Charles spoke about her scoring down the stretch where she made three consecutive baskets to help push the lead back to double digits.
“It’s not about what I’m seeing (out there), I just know who I am. It’s just preparation meets opportunity. Regardless of the situation, I’m just trying to be as dominant as I can whenever given the opportunity. I love to score, I think everyone knows that - just taking advantage.” Charles said.
Stewart talked with the media after the game and pointed out how dangerous the team can be.
“I was talking after the game what really makes us dangerous, obviously we love to play fast, we love to get steals, and score in transition. We love to shoot threes. But when we can be really dominant in the paint like we were today and like we’ve been in the past few games, it’s hard for people to guard us. I mean look at our lineup in general … I don’t know, it’s a lot! There’s a lot of greatness on our team. Since we’ve added Tina, we’re only getting better which is the most exciting. As we ramp up to the postseason we want to make sure that we’re going to be our best.” Stewie explained.
I wanted to hear more from Stewart’s perspective on where the team has really improved since adding Charles.
“Tina obviously brings a lot. Everyone knows she’s an amazing player, she’s one of the best players in our league. The way she can really affect and change a game. If I’m being completely honest, the thing she’s brought is confidence. Obviously, she’s confident in herself but I can see the rest of the team gaining confidence and thriving off of what she brings. It’s a lot of fun, it’s great to share the court with her. We’ve done it with Team USA a lot of times. And now to be able to do it in the WNBA, it’s dangerous.” Stewart added.
Speaking with Coach Quinn and discussing where the team is at in the standings just two games out of first place, I asked her how critical it is that the team finishes strong to end the regular season.
“It’s huge! Just knowing that it is very tight - the race to the top. And in general, I tell you guys all the time, you want to be playing your best basketball at the end of the season. I don’t think we’ve peaked quite yet. We’re still trying to figure things out. In the midst of that, finding ways to win and being very effective. Each and every game moving forward is very important. We’re going to be present, be where our feet our. We don’t want to look past any opponent. Not think big picture too much, just knowing this is the last stretch. We have to be mindful of how we come into games and how we want to be effective on both ends of the floor.” Quinn stated.
“This is the tail end of our season. Every matchup is like a playoff matchup in my opinion,” she added.
Jersey Count
YES! They finally found their Green and Gold “Explorer” uniforms and wore them for the first time since June 5th against the Connecticut Sun. Out of the 25 total games the team has played this season they’ve only worn their most traditional uniform five times. With the victory, they improved to 2-3 on the season with this specific jersey combination. The Storm are now 17-8 on the season and corresponding with the Sun’s loss to Las Vegas on Sunday, Seattle moves into sole possession of third place in the WNBA standings. They still trail Chicago Sky (19-6) and the Las Vegas Aces (18-7) but continue to gain ground.
Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 6-2
Explorer: 2-3
Heroine: 9-3
Overall Record: 17-8
Up Next
Seattle heads out on the road for a quick two-game trip before returning back home next Sunday. First up, is the #1 overall seed the Chicago Sky on Wednesday at 9:00 AM (Seattle Time). It’ll be another Kid’s Day so hopefully, the children’s screaming will be loud enough to keep the Storm players awake and alert. Coach Quinn hinted that it’ll be a playoff-like atmosphere as two of the WNBA’s best teams square up in a game with massive playoff-seeding implications on the line. The Sky are 9-1 in their last 10 games and the Storm are 8-2.
Notes:
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Photo Credits to Neil Enns/Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography Team
Thanks for all the great support! Please tell other Storm fans about my coverage!
Thanks for posting first thing in the morning for those of us eager for more information right away! Today I especially appreciated the comments from and about Tina Charles. Want to know more about her.
What do you know about the exchange between Sue and Sophie Cunningham in our last game against Phoenix? I've rarely seen that reaction from Sue. Is there a history there, etc.?