Stewart, Storm topple LA Sparks 83-80

Breanna Stewart's monster game of 28 points was just good enough for the win!

(Seattle, WA) - At times this game was like watching a movie. Clash of the Titans! King Kong versus Godzilla! Breanna Stewart versus Liz Cambage! The two extremely talented post players put on a show for the Seattle crowd scoring a combined 53 points in a game that Seattle ultimately won by three points, 83-80.

Stewie finished with a game-high 28 points (her season-high so far this year). Stewart was efficient connecting on 11-20 FG and getting to the foul line connecting on 4-5 from the charity stripe. She also finished with seven rebounds.

“Once again, ending our game with a defensive possession. We showed a lot of grit. We weathered the storm in the 2nd half. Offense slowed up a little bit, but our defense sustained us. An amazing effort from that end of the floor from everybody. Liz is a tough guard, Nneka is a tough guard. They got busy tonight but overall I enjoyed our effort and I’m happy to be walking away with a win.” Coach Quinn gave in her opening statement after the game.

This was once again a game where most of the scoring came from one player. A couple of games ago, Jewell Loyd scored 26 points and no other Storm player reached double figures. Tonight, Stewart went off for 28 points but Loyd was the only other player to score 10+ with just 11 points. On one hand, that may be concerning as teams should never have to rely that heavily on one player to score. However, it also emphasizes the depth Seattle has on their roster. While no other players hit double figures, the Storm did have six additional players score at least five points or more and three additional players (beyond Stewart and Loyd) that scored at least eight points in the game.

I spoke with Coach Quinn after the game about the lopsided (top-heavy) scoring and if that is a concern at all.

“There is balance in our shot attempts which is a good sign. Our reserves have the same amount of shots. You do want Jewell and Stewie to take the majority but knowing in the way in which we play where we move the ball and find the open person. I’m encouraged because these pieces are relatively new to what we want to do. We have even pieces who have been here but they’re in different roles (now). I think it’s just about continued growth and finding our sweet spots out on the court. Finding the advantages we have and just continuing to instill the confidence in taking the open ones and knocking them in.” Quinn responded.

Once again, Seattle’s bench outscored their opponent, this time 22-11. It’s the fourth time in six games that’s happened. The only games where they didn’t was when Piph and Stewie were out sick which moved a reserve into the starting role and removed Seattle’s leading bench scorer from those games.

Prince led the way again with eight points and has been extremely consistent this season in her role.

I spoke with Piph earlier this week about the strong bench contributions from the reserves.

“Our bench is really good. Everyone on the bench, each position brings something special to the unit. When we go out there we pride ourselves on either outscoring or outplaying the other team’s 2nd unit. I feel our starting five is one of the best if not the very best and we go up against them every day, sometimes we even beat them. We feel we’re also capable.” Prince stated.

One of the biggest keys to this game was that Seattle held a 27-16 advantage in assists. The 27 assists were a season-high for Seattle. They assisted on 27 of 29 made field goals in this game, good for 93% of their scoring opportunities. It was most noticeable in that first period when Seattle exploded for 29 points. Sue Bird was a huge factor in that as she led the team with eight assists and had zero turnovers for the game.

“Just the confidence knowing (we can do it). Over the past few games, I didn’t think our shot selection was bad some of them just weren’t going in. Making shots is contagious so when you see one go through, teammates follow. You feel good, now your defensive presence and intensity are good because you know you're flowing offensively. I thought the ball was moving, we were screening, we were intentional about how we wanted to attack. In the 2nd half, I think that slowed up a little bit. At the end of the day, we are six games in and continue to grow and get better on the offensive end. Just knowing our defense is sustaining (us) so as long as we can take efficient shots and set up our defense we’ll find some success.” Coach Quinn discussed the offensive performance after the game.

The LA Sparks

Liz Cambage, the 6’8” Center from Australia was dominant in the low post. She also stretched the floor and buried two three-pointers to show off her versatility. While Ezi Magbegor, Jantel Lavender, and Breanna Stewart did their best to contain Cambage she finished the game with 25 points on 9-17 FG. She also had eight rebounds and three assists.

Coach Quinn talked about the strategy to try and contain Liz Cambage.

“Just to show bodies. We were trusting Ezi to find her early in the possession. Put pressure on the ball. When you think about defending the post, it’s not just one person’s matchup, it’s a team effort. Pressure the ball, make sure we have help side and trap her when she gets low. And putting her in ball screens on the other end to tire her out. There was a point where she did get a little bit gassed but she got into a groove. It’s tough, she’s a load. Kudos to Ezi for fighting and trying to limit her as much as possible.” Quinn stated.

While most of the game was the Liz Cambage show, Nneka Ogwumike was fantastic for Los Angeles as well. Nneka finished the game with 20 points on 9-15 FG. She made several key baskets in the second half and had an opportunity to send the game to overtime on the final play.

After the game, I asked Stewie about the challenges of defending Nneka and Liz.

“Starting with Nneka, just her versatility. The fact that her motor never stops. She wants to go to the basket, she wants to get to the midrange, she can shoot the three. (The goal) is to make everything difficult. And she’s all over the place on defense, making sure you’re coming to the ball.

Liz is obviously a load, the fact that she’s so dominant in the paint tonight but also is making two threes. It’s the same thing, the versatility is tough to stop. They both had 20 to 25 (points) but I thought we did alright.” Stewie told me.

Game Breakdown

Jewell Loyd found Breanna Stewart cutting to the basket for the game’s first points. Liz Cambage was late on the rotation and fouled Stewart. Gabby Williams hit a three and Bird found her cutting baseline for an easy layup. Liz Cambage scored LA’s first points but Stewie hit a three to put Seattle up 11-2.

Ezi Magbegor rejected Liz Cambage twice. Cambage was not thrilled as there definitely was some contact on the play but the refs swallowed their whistle. Magbegor then went right at Liz at the other end and scored on her leading to a big eruption from the home crowd.

Seattle was the best they’ve looked offensively early on in this game connecting on 6-9 FG (67%).

Katie Lou Samuelson checked into the game and Stewie immediately called for the ball demanding that she had a major mismatch. Samuelson picked up two fouls on the same possession, the first one where she had to guard Stewart. Samuelson would pick up her third foul of the 1st quarter on a broken play after her teammate turned the ball over.

Stewart led Seattle with 11 points in the quarter. Jewell Loyd was right behind her with seven points. Liz Cambage led the Sparks with six points in the opening period.

Offensively, this was the best quarter we’ve seen the Storm play this season scoring 29 points and shooting 57% (12-21 FG). They led by as many as 17 points and finished the quarter up 13 at 29-16.

Epiphanny Prince was fouled on a three-point shot to begin the 2nd period to double-up the Sparks at 32-16. Chennedy Carter responded with an impressive drive past Ezi Magbegor. Ezi has been able to block a lot of those shots but Carter was able to get past her long arms to score the layup and get fouled.

Cambage shot a three off the backboard as the shot clock expired. She just barely got it out of her hands as the buzzer went off.

Seattle’s bench plus Magbegor played excellent through the first four minutes of the second quarter. The Storm started the quarter leading by 13 points (29-16) through the first four minutes the reserves had extended that lead to 18 points (41-23). Epiphanny Prince, Stephanie Talbot, and Briann January were all making strong contributions.

Jordin Canada scored her first points against her former team on a drive against the player that replaced her (January). Canada was shifty enough to get into the lane and draw a foul on January which allowed her to connect on two free throws.

After trailing by 18 points, Coach Derek Fisher was forced to call a timeout. After that, that Sparks went on an 11-0 run. Jordin Canada played a big role in scoring and getting a steal from a Stewart pass.

The starters responded with an 8-0 run including a triple from Bird and five points from Stewart including a dazzling play where she split two defenders with her dribble drove down the lane, made the shot, and was fouled. This pushed the lead back up to 15 points at 49-34 with 2:29 left in the first half.

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Just Stewie things 🔥 @breannastewart x #TakeCover

Breanna Stewart picked up where she left off in the first half scoring the team’s first seven points of the third quarter. Sue Bird finally broke that streak with a three-ball.

For Los Angeles, it was the Liz Cambage show as she scored seven of the team’s first nine points in the third.

Both teams exchanged baskets through the first six minutes of the quarter. Seattle led 63-52. LA continued to battle. Jordin Canada was able to knock Sue Bird down (not a foul) and pick up the steal. Canada raced down the court for the uncontested layup to cut the lead to seven at 63-56.

Magbegor knocked down a pair of free throws as Seattle took a 67-58 lead at the end of the third.

Briann January hit a three for Seattle to start the 4th quarter scoring. Back-to-back baskets by Liz Cambage and Brittney Sykes cut Seattle’s lead back down to seven at 70-63. Prince made a nice jumper and was fouled to complete the three-point play.

Nneka scored some impressive plays against Stewie.

Liz Cambage connected on a pair of free throws and then Brittney Sykes stole the ball for the easy layup as Los Angeles had cut Seattle’s lead to just four points with 2:15 left in the game.

Magbegor blocked Cambage’s shot but Liz was able to get a rebound and the putback layup to cut the Storm’s lead down to just two points at 79-77. Stewie responded on the other end to put Seattle back up four but Nneka was able to use her footwork to get around Stewie for another layup on the other end and it was back down to two points with under a minute to play.

Bird was fouled with 45 seconds left in the game and calmly knocked down two free throws to put the Storm back up by four points at 83-79. In the next possession, Liz got a deep touch but was fouled by Stewart before she could finish the layup. Cambage made one of two from the foul line.

For Seattle’s final possession, Jewell Loyd had a great look at a corner three that rimmed in and out. Lexie Brown got the rebound with 19 seconds left in the game and the Sparks would have a shot at sending the game into overtime.

Instead of calling a timeout, they went to work and actually found Nneka in the corner for a three that would have tied it. Fortunately, for Seattle, it did not go in and the Storm escaped with an 83-80 victory.

Coach Quinn was asked about the final possession after the game.

“I’ve been trusting our defense so much to play the possession straight up. So many things happen when you try to foul in that situation (up 3 with only a few seconds to play). Putting teams on the free throw line. We put our defensive group on the floor for the last possession. Nneka got a good look but Jewell was sorta able to contest it and we were able to secure the victory.” Coach Quinn told us.

Sue Bird was asked after the game about what went wrong in the 4th quarter that nearly allowed the Sparks to steal a win.

“I think it was a product of them turning up the heat a little bit and us relaxing at the same time. It’s tough for the team that’s trying to relax. What got us the lead was getting stops on defense and pushing the ball. Offensively, having a little more aggressiveness to us. My take on it was that we’re a team that is fairly new. In late-game scenarios, we’re still figuring things out on how to be strategic, and patient, but also still be aggressive. Sometimes when you try to be patient you can lose some of that aggressiveness so we’re trying to find that balance.” Bird told the media.

Seattle outscored Los Angeles 29-16 in the first quarter but was outscored every single quarter after that, 25-22, 17-16, and 22-16. I spoke with Sue Bird after the game about why the offense wasn’t able to sustain what they had in the first quarter.

“I don’t think we’re struggling. There’s also the reality that we’re not going to score 30 every single quarter. The other team isn’t going to roll over and die. That’s not how the WNBA is. It’s well documented, it’s 12 teams, 12 spots. No lead is ever safe. When you get a big lead it’s how does that impact you mentally? It’s not necessarily what we’re running, it’s more how we’re running it. I think we just lost some of our aggressiveness as they were making their comeback. And really it was just the 4th quarter. The 2nd and 3rd felt like it was back and forth and felt like we had a (consistent) 10-11 point lead. That’s when you need to take that lead to 15 and not let it go to five. It’s in those moments, even though we have a core group, we’re still a team that’s figuring those moments out.” Bird addressed the situation.

Additional Analysis

Gabby versus Katie Lou Round 1

While neither player was spectacular in this game, Round 1 definitely goes to Gabby Williams. Williams finished the game with five points, three rebounds, two assists, and three steals.

Katie Lou was downright awful. Things were problematic for her as soon as she checked into the game and was forced to guard Breanna Stewart. It was a big sister bullying a little sister. A lion going after a gazelle. Within about 15 seconds of entering the game, Lou had committed two fouls on Stewart. The 2nd of which was an AND1 opportunity as Stewie buried the short jumper as she was fouled.

Just two minutes later, Chennedy Carter made a bad pass that Jewell Loyd was able to get to. Samuelson was in the area and her instant reaction was to try and recover the ball (nothing wrong with that). It was unfortunate luck that resulted in her fouling Loyd as Jewell was just a little bit faster to the ball. Lou had been on the court for all of about two minutes and had already picked up three quick fouls and was forced to return to the bench.

Samuelson got several good looks at three-pointers throughout the game and just missed all of them. Maybe it was nerves playing against her former team. Maybe it was the fact that she’s just returned to the United States after playing in Spain for several months (this was her 2nd game in the WNBA this season). But her shot was just not going down tonight. Katie Lou finished the game 0-5 missing four shots from beyond the arc and blowing a contested layup.

I am very curious to see how both parties perform throughout the season. Nobody will or should ever be judged in one game. And it’s more about what the players can do for their respective organizations. The Sparks don’t have a lot of really good three-point threats so if Lou can start consistently scoring from the outside she’ll be a huge asset for them.

Seattle was desperate to improve their defense, especially after losing Alysha Clark in free agency after the 2020 season and replacing her with the more offensive-minded Samuelson.

They need Gabby to play excellent defense, give them good options on the fastbreak and off the dribble, and occasionally knock down the open three-pointer.

Let’s check back on how each player is doing after another 5-10 games have gone by and see if either team clearly won the trade. We’ll see if both teams are seeing benefits or neither team is.

Brittney Sykes's Defense is LEGIT

Sykes has been one of the league’s top defensive wings for a couple of years now. She was named to the All-WNBA Defensive 1st Team in 2021 and 2nd Team in 2020. She was focused on shutting down Jewell Loyd in this game. Certainly one of the more difficult tasks she’ll have all year. To her credit, she did an excellent job. Loyd scored just 11 points on 3-10 FG shooting and never appeared to get into a solid rhythm in this game.

Sykes shadowed her all over the court, fighting through screens and making Loyd’s job as difficult as possible. Brittney finished with 10 points, six rebounds, and a steal. While not gaudy numbers by any means, she essentially completely neutralized Loyd and played even with Jewell. In that scenario, that’s a huge win for Los Angeles!

BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

Shout out to the guy who started the “BEAT L-A! BEAT L-A!” chants late in the 4th quarter. That’s always fascinating when one guy can get a chant going as I heard him start it and the next thing you know the entire arena is shouting the chant at the top of their lungs.

Never forget, the fans are the home court advantage! You guys can make things really difficult on the opponent.

Jersey Count

Seattle picked up their 1st win of the season while wearing their Green “Explorer” jerseys. They have now won with each jersey combination this season. The team improves back to a .500 record and will look to get above that mark when they face the New York Liberty next.

Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 1-1
Explorer: 1-1
Heroine: 1-1
Overall Record: 3-3

Up Next

Some much-needed time off! Seattle will get six days off from games where they can focus on practicing, film studies, and improving team chemistry. They return to play at Climate Pledge Arena on Friday, May 27th at 7:00 PM, against the New York Liberty.

Notes: Thanks for everyone’s support, it’s greatly appreciated! Please refer all your friends who 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 Team and sometimes my own.