Storm excel in 95-73 win over Indiana

The Fever was cured on Tuesday.

(Indianapolis, Indiana) - This is what you call a “Get Right” game. After a very disappointing performance against the Atlanta Dream on Sunday where the team lost by double digits and was outplayed throughout, it was nice to see Seattle bounce back strong against the Indiana Fever on Tuesday afternoon. While the Fever played better early on, as the teams got to the end of the 2nd quarter and certainly by the end of the third quarter, Seattle proved to be too much for this young and inexperienced Fever team.

Seattle was able to outscore Indiana by nine points in the first half and 13 in the 2nd half to win the game 95-73. It was their second dominant performance against the Fever in the past three games.

“I thought today a lot of great contributions across the board. A big stat was 52 points in the paint. We didn’t shoot the three well but we distributed well. Our shot selection was great. Our defense was on point. Overall, it was a great effort on the road.” Coach Quinn said in her opening statement after the game.

“It shows what we can be when we’re locked in. When we are all in sync and just connected… It was great to see Gabby with her activity. Obviously, you can look at Ezi with her double-double. Tina getting comfortable, Sue distributing, etc. The quality and characteristics of our players coming together, sometimes it is mind over matter when you getting into these stretches of the season. It’s good to see production all across the board. That once again shows our depth and how that comes into play.” She added.

Jewell Loyd led the way scoring 25 points, adding three assists and three steals. Loyd was one of five Storm players to reach double figures in this game. Gabby Williams was active to the rim and brought the energy while scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds. Both Breanna Stewart and Ezi Magbegor scored 12 points. Magbegor had a double-double by collecting 11 rebounds. Tina Charles nearly had one as well off the bench with 13 points and eight rebounds. Charles spoke about her adjustments and the keys to her improvement.

“I will say one of the keys when joining a new team is learning the plays. Now that I was finally able to learn some of the plays it allows me to know where my spots are. To know where the defense can be. Especially, coming off the bench and just being able to see where things are open - that definitely helps. The more I know the plays and I’m comfortable I’ll reflect who everyone expects of me. And these guys definitely have encouraged me and put confidence in me because they want me to reflect that so it helps.” Tina Charles said after the game.

She also praised her teammates’ performances.

“It’s really important for Jewell to be aggressive. Once she’s aggressive, regardless if the shots are going in or out, they have to respect her and it opens up things for us. As long as she’s aggressive and Stewie’s aggressive it helps us out a lot.” Tina said.

“What’s neat about Gabby is just her defense. She’s normally going to have the toughest matchup when it comes to a guard on the opposing team. She never puts her head down. She believes in herself and knows what she can do. That definitely helps her on the offensive end. I think about the time off she had last year, playing with the French National Team. The confidence she came back with into this league, you definitely have to respect her. In the open court, she’s always trying to make the right play. That’s what us Huskies do!” (referencing their UConn lineage), Charles added.

Charles led the reserves in one of their best games of the season. A lot of that had to do with Tina but Stephanie Talbot added 9 points on 4-6 FG shooting and four rebounds in her role as well. Every player that entered the game scored at least once and in total Seattle’s bench outscored Indiana’s 30-13.

Not surprisingly, the Storm had the edge in most statistical categories. What was a little surprising was the fact that they outscored Indiana 52-30 inside the paint and also out-rebounded them 43-36. Seattle had a 14-6 edge in fast-break points. They also scored 20 points off of 15 Fever turnovers. The Storm had a 20-14 edge in assists and shot a higher field goal percentage as well: 49% (37-76 FG) compared to 38% (28-73 FG) for Indiana.

I asked Coach Quinn about the importance of being aggressive, attacking the rim, and not always settling for the outside shot.

“Yeah. We still took 24 threes which is around the amount of threes that we take. I just thought there was a good variety to what we did. One of the biggest things is to continue to play out of our defense. The 20 points off turnovers, that’s huge because that generates easier points, generates more flow. Not always settling for some of those threes. A lot of times our threes are good looks and we’re open but also those free throws. Getting to the free throw line. Those are things we don’t normally do consistently. I think having that variety, helps us settle in offensively. To get easier looks at the rim, it helps. It helps your confidence, the momentum, and all things that matter when you’re trying to pull out wins on the road.” Quinn told me.

The Indiana Fever

Indiana was led by their “should-be” All-Star Kelsey Mitchell. Kelsey was much more productive in this game compared to last Friday when Seattle limited her to just three points total. On Tuesday, K. Mitchell scored 21 points including 3-6 FG from beyond the arc. NaLyssa Smith was in foul trouble in the first half but responded by scoring 14 points (11 in the 2nd half). Danielle Robinson added 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists. The rebounds and assists were both a team-high.

Game Breakdown

Jewell Loyd got the Storm on the board first with a three-point basket. Emily Engstler and Victoria Vivians both scored for Indiana to briefly put them ahead. Both teams exchanged baskets and swapped leads over the next few minutes.

The Storm gave up an offensive rebound off a Kelsey Mitchell free throw to Emma Cannon that led to a three-ball by the Fever. Tina Charles checked in and quickly scored four points. Both were strong moves to the rim which was nice to see. It’s seemed like a lot of her shot selection recently has been fading away from the rim instead of attacking it.

Jewell had a nice drive to the rim to put the Storm up 15-14. Then she had a beautiful turnaround jumper near the foul line. Seattle’s defense improved after not being great early. This forced the Fever into multiple turnovers in the first period.

The Storm were also able to capitalize on Indiana’s foul trouble especially with Queen Egbo already out of this game due to Health & Safety protocols. Ezi was able to draw a foul to sink two free throws. She then had a beautiful drop step to finish at the rim with her left hand. Magbegor had six points in the first quarter.

Seattle led 23-16 at the end of the first period. They finished the quarter on a 10-2 run.

Five quick points by the Fever to begin the 2nd quarter led to Coach Quinn calling a timeout. That didn’t fix things immediately and the Fever continued to score going on a 9-0 run before Seattle would stop the bleeding.

After being limited to just three points when these two teams met last Friday, Kelsey Mitchell was determined to have a larger impact in this game. She hit a big three to put Indiana up 28-27. K. Mitchell had 10 points in the first half.

Six straight points by the Storm put them back up five at 35-30 with 3:09 left in the opening half. There was a great take to the rim by Gabby Williams. Then as Indiana got the ball past halfcourt Williams stole the ball and immediately laid it up to score four points in the span of about 10 seconds.

The Storm finished the second period on a 15-5 run to lead by nine points at 44-35. Jewell Loyd led the way with 14 points. Ezi had eight points, and Stewie and Gabby each added six more. Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 10 points. Victoria Vivians added seven points in the first half for Indiana.

Vivians made a basket to begin the 2nd half but then Seattle went on a 9-1 run that included four points from Stewie, a three by Jewell, and another layup from Ezi to put Seattle up 15 points (53-38). The Fever responded with their own 9-2 run including five more points from Kelsey Mitchell.

Gabby scored six straight points but NaLyssa Smith responded with a three to cut the lead back down to seven with 2:55 left in the third. That was the closest Indiana would get the rest of the game as the Storm went into overdrive mode after that.

Williams got a steal and went coast-to-coast to complete a finger-roll layup. Then the Storm got a defensive stop. Tina Charles grabbed the rebound and immediately passed the ball to Stewie who ran the fast break. Stewart found Loyd open for three and she buried the triple. This sequence was some incredible basketball. Some of the best we’ve seen from the Storm as they ended the third quarter on a 16-4 run. Seattle outscored Indiana 33-23 in the third period and led 77-58 after three.

“Out activity level picked up. We got some stops. We finished plays with rebounds. We got good looks and movement. Understanding our game plan today, how Indiana defends. We were able to slip and get some good looks to the rim. I just think the level of attentiveness to detail was on point today.” Quinn said of the strong finish to the third quarter.

Tina Charles began the 4th quarter with another aggressive drive to the rim that resulted in an AND1 after she made the basket and was fouled by Emma Cannon. Charles gave Cannon a little bit of the stink eye afterward to indicate “You can’t guard me!”

K. Mitchell continued to score for Indiana but it just wasn’t enough to compete with Seattle’s offensive firepower.

Ezi had another beautiful drive blowing by her defender for two more points. It really feels like Magbegor can get by her defender 80-90% of the time she’s aggressive to the rim. I spoke with Ezi about that after the game to ask if she felt it was because of her speed or if she is deceptive because the defense isn’t expecting it because of her size.

“I think maybe a little bit of both. I do use my speed to my advantage especially if I’m playing against bigger/stronger players. I think that’s something I could get better at. But just playing with the Storm, my teammates want me to be aggressive. So when I am able to get the ball and see the mismatch, they back me 100% to do that.” Magbegor told me

Briann January made a beautiful pass to Lavender who couldn’t finish at the rim but was able to get her own offensive rebound and put it back in. Lavender scored four points in the final quarter.

Kelsey Mitchell scored four straight points for Indiana. Two from the foul line and another silky smooth jumper.

With most of the starters all on the bench, Stephanie Talbot led the way in the final period scoring seven of her nine points in the final frame. She had a nice offensive rebound putback and hit a three as well.

At the final buzzer, Seattle won the game 95 to 73.

Additional Analysis

Excellent Center Production

We know it’s going to take time for Tina Charles to get adjusted to playing with the Storm. She didn’t have a training camp with the team. She played nearly the first half of this WNBA season learning how to play with Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith along with the rest of the Phoenix Mercury. Now she has to adjust to playing with Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, Sue Bird, and Ezi Magbegor while playing games every other day and having no practice time.

This means she’s having to pick up all of the team’s plays, offensive and defensive schemes, language, etc. while playing in the games and during walkthroughs. It shouldn’t come as a shock that Charles is not averaging 15 PPG and 8 RPG immediately with the Storm.

But if you followed how she performed in Phoenix earlier this year. She also had some slow starts while adjusting to her new team there but by the time she left she was averaging over 17 PPG and 7 RPG.

I’m sure it’ll be another couple of weeks at least before she feels really comfortable in Seattle’s systems but Tuesday was certainly a sign of positive things to come. Charles was aggressive, she was efficient making 5-6 FG, she attacked the rim more often; Tina gave the team a huge boost off the bench.

Charles is exactly what the Storm needed. They needed another scorer and they needed to improve their rebounding. As she continues to gel with the team, this should only get better!

Because Mercedes Russell is still out with her non-basketball injury and we don’t know if or when she’ll return this season, Charles is going to have the opportunity to play a huge role.

On Tuesday, Ezi Magbegor and Tina Charles combined for 25 points (12/13) and 19 rebounds (11/8). That type of production from the Center position to go along with whatever Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, Sue Bird, Gabby Williams and any other bench players contribute is going to make the Storm extremely difficult to beat.

“(The production) is needed! Obviously, our deficiencies are rebounding and scoring at the moment. It’s good to see our bigs being efficient from the floor and being physical. Obviously, Ezi with her defensive prowess of blocking shots. And Tina becoming more comfortable. Again, it’s good to see where we can be. There’s a glimpse of that. Today, having our bigs be more productive in the way - getting us more shots on goal and paint points. Those things matter!” Quinn said of the production from the Center position.

Briann January Honored in Indiana

Both Briann January and Sue Bird were honored before the game because this is the last time the two teams will play in Indiana this season and we know the Fever won’t be making the playoffs this year. While it’s not a surprise Bird was greeted by her original WNBA Coach Lin Dunn and honored by the organization. It was great to see January get just as much recognition for her retirement. January was the starting point guard for the 2012 Indiana Fever team that won the WNBA Championship in four games (3-1) against the Minnesota Lynx. They are the only Fever team to have won the title. Dunn was the head coach of Indiana at the time and just returned this season to help take over General Manager duties on an interim basis after Tamika Catchings opted to step down.

January averaged 10.3 PPG and 4.0 APG that season with Indiana. She upped her scoring to 11.5 PPG during their playoff run. Bri was also named to the All-WNBA Defensive First Team that year marking her as one of the five best defensive players in the entire WNBA.

Briann January was drafted by the Indiana Fever and played her first nine WNBA seasons with the team. She is a true great of the franchise and it was wonderful that the team honored her as such.

Indiana Fever ⛹️‍♀️🏀 @IndianaFever

our champion ❤️ tonight we honored Fever great @BriannJanuary for her stellar @WNBA career

Sneak Peek of the Playoff Rotation?

It was interesting to me while watching this game because I noticed that in the first half Jantel Lavender didn’t play at all and Epiphanny Prince only played for around three minutes. Coach Quinn was shortening her bench earlier on while the game was still pretty tight.

To me, this gave us a glimpse of what the team’s playoff rotations could look like once the postseason begins. For those unaware, it is very common for teams to shorten their bench and play their starters more minutes in the playoffs because every game counts, and losing a game could result in your team’s entire season ending. If a team plays typically around 9 to 10 players during the regular season they will likely shorten that rotation to about 7 or 8 players in the playoffs.

It makes a lot of sense for Seattle to use an eight-player rotation in the playoffs. At least if the games are close. If that does happen, I think you’ll likely see the five starters (Bird, Loyd, Williams, Stewart, and Magbegor) play with three reserves (Charles, Talbot, and January).

I wouldn’t be surprised if teams like the Las Vegas Aces and Connecticut Sun who are both loaded in their starting five but don’t have the strongest bench units may play with just a seven-player rotation in the playoffs.

Because Seattle blew the game open in the 2nd half, everyone got more than 10 minutes of playing time in this game. But it was the early quarters that were the most interesting to watch from my perspective.

Jersey Count

The Storm were once again wearing their “Heroine” green and white jerseys and I’m starting to think they lost their green and gold “Explorer” ones. What I would consider their most traditional jersey has only been worn four times this season and hasn’t been worn in over a month now! As it stands, they picked up another win for the “Heroine” and improve their record to 7-3 while wearing this specific uniform combination. Overall, Seattle improved to 14-8 on the season but remains the 4th overall seed. They are still behind the Chicago Sky (15-5), Las Vegas Aces (15-6), and the Connecticut Sun (14-8). With the Sun losing to the Dallas Wings on Tuesday, they now fall into a tie with Seattle. However, due to the fact they beat the Storm twice already this year, they own any tiebreaker if these two teams finish tied at the end of the season. Seattle has 14 games left. There’s plenty of time to move up if they can finish strong.

Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 6-2
Explorer: 1-3
Heroine: 7-3
Overall Record: 14-8

Up Next

Once again the Storm will have to play another game after a cross-country flight. Thankfully, they played this game earlier on the East Coast so hopefully, once they get to Los Angeles they will be more rested and prepared to face the Sparks than they were against Atlanta a couple of days ago. With that said, don’t look now but Los Angeles is one of the hottest teams in the league having won three straight to move into playoff seeding. These two teams face off in LA on Thursday, July 7th at 7:30 PM.

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