Stewart's late heroics lead Seattle over LA 71-62
Breanna Stewart scored 12 of the team's final 14 points to secure the victory.
(Everett, WA) - The Seattle Storm picked up their 15th victory on the season holding off the short-handed Los Angeles Sparks 71-62. Breanna Stewart’s late-game heroics delivered the final blow by Seattle, scoring 12 of the team’s final 14 points. It wasn’t the prettiest game of the season with both teams shooting under 40% (Seattle 38%, LA 36%). It was a grind-it-out defensive battle and Seattle did just enough to pick up another victory in Commissioner Cup play.
“Back-to-back’s have been tough for us this season. But I think we closed out well. Stewie hitting the last 12 (points) in the last two and a half minutes. Getting stops, rebounding, and finishing off plays. Sometimes it’s not pretty, but what we’re learning about ourselves is that we’re finding ways to win. We’re gaining a lot of chemistry with one another. And just digging down deep and pulling through when we need it, getting contributions from everyone.” Coach Noelle Quinn said after the game.
Breanna Stewart led the way with 27 points and 11 rebounds. She also had three steals in the game. Jewell Loyd backed her up with 18 points and six rebounds. The pair also combined for 17 of 18 free throws from the foul line as they battled through contact and willed their team to victory.
Los Angeles was led by the impressive play of Erica Wheeler who scored 22 points on 62% (8-13) field goal shooting. Wheeler helped the Sparks make a surge in the third and fourth quarters allowing Los Angeles to stay in the game to the very end.
“We are in games and literally down 10 or down five with three of our key players out. Chiney (Ogwumike) is out, Nneka (Ogwumike) is out, and KT (Kristi Toliver). We are still giving teams hell. When my teammates get back, it is going to be a different ball game.” Wheeler said after the loss.
Seattle averages a league-best 22.1 assists per game but was held to just 11 assists in this game. The 11 assists were by far Seattle’s lowest output of the season. The Sparks’ defense was pesky and threw them out of rhythm. I spoke to the coach afterward about that.
“We shot 25% from three, 37% from the floor. It’s a good thing we got to the free throw line. Sometimes, you look at their record and think ‘oh these teams aren’t good’, but night in and night out these teams are capable and Los Angeles is that. On the defensive end, they’re in their strength spots, they’re rotating, they cover a lot of ground, they’re pressuring you. Your offense is not flowing because they’re taking away passes. All of that definitely impacted how we were able to get into our offensive rhythm. Some plays broke down and took us out of our norm. Sometimes you just have to counter their pressure.” Coach Quinn replied.
Game Breakdown
Jewell Loyd got the Storm on the board first with a contested jumper in the lane. Amanda Zahui B. was able to respond with five points of her own. Erica Wheeler had a nifty reverse layup and Sue Bird responded with a three on the wing to put Seattle up 11-7 with under five to play in the opening quarter.
Erica Wheeler picked Sue Bird’s pocket as Bird was bringing the ball up the court. The veteran wasn’t expecting it and Wheeler made her pay, finishing the uncontested layup at the rim.
Ezi Magbegor checked in and immediately scored on a post move where she was fouled. Magbegor sank the free throw to put Seattle up 16-9. Ezi made two more free throws on a later play to tally five points off the bench in the first quarter.
Lauren Cox had an impressive rejection on Breanna sending the ball out of bounds. However, Stewart freed herself up off a screen on the immediate out-of-bounds play and drained a three to put Seattle up 21-9.
LA went cold and did not score a single point after the 4:04 mark of the first period. Seattle led 23-9 after one with Breanna Stewart leading the team with seven points. Jewell had six and Ezi added five more off the bench.
Seattle did not have any of their starters in to begin the second quarter. Cierra Burdick got her first minutes of the season with Seattle. Prince knocked down a three and Ezi scored another basket, but Seattle’s offense stalled for several minutes after that.
The Sparks were able to keep the game within reach against Seattle by drawing several fouls against the Storm. They also upped their defensive intensity making it much more difficult to score. Los Angeles had 11 steals in this game and forced Seattle into 19 turnovers total.
“They’re really aggressive. At times, they forced us to play fast instead of our own game. They’re long and athletic, they get into the lanes and steal the ball. It’s the aggression they play with that makes teams rush instead of playing (to the gameplan).” Stephanie Talbot told me after the game.
Loyd’s ability to get to the foul line helped Seattle put points on the board despite the team’s poor shooting.
Karlie Samuelson knocked down a three late in the period and drew a charge. Her play helped Los Angeles cut Seattle’s lead to single digits 38-29 at the halfway point. Stewart led Seattle with 11 points, Loyd had 10, and Ezi provided seven points off the bench.
Seattle shot just under 41% (11-27) and 30% (3-10) from three. Los Angeles was even worse at 32% (10-31) and 20% (2-10) from beyond the arc. The Storm held an 18-14 edge in rebounds. The home team also had a 13-9 advantage in free throw attempts.
Both teams had missed multiple shots and turnovers to open up the second half. Katie Lou Samuelson got Seattle on the board stealing an outlet pass and racing back down the other way for a layup. About a minute later, Lou was called for an offensive foul after her sister (Karlie) was pestering her with some contact on defense and Lou threw her shoulder into Karlie’s chest picking up the charge call.
Stephanie Talbot hit a three beyond the top of the key to give the Storm a 12-point lead. She then had a beautiful drive a couple of minutes later down the lane for two more. Unfortunately, she made an ill-timed mistake fouling Karlie Samuelson outside the three-point line. Fortunately, Samuelson was only able to knock down one of three foul shots.
Every time Seattle made a run to push it back up to 12-14, Erica Wheeler responded with points on the other end. Wheeler scored 11 of the Sparks 14 points in the third period. Seattle led 53-43 after three.
The Storm’s bench struggled to begin the fourth quarter with multiple turnovers and missed shots. It wasn’t for a lack of effort really as Seattle took multiple good looks at the basket and were fighting for loose balls. They went around three minutes without scoring a single point and after Los Angeles cut the lead down to five, Coach Noelle Quinn was forced to call timeout.
Jewell Loyd came back in and responding by scoring a couple of baskets. But LA hung tough knocking down their own shots by Arella Guirantes and Erica Wheeler.
Breanna Stewart had a massive offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer by Jewell Loyd. Stewart scooped up the rebound before Los Angeles could get it and immediately put the ball in the rim.
Guirantes scored again on a mid-range jumper to cut the lead to just one 61-60 with just two minutes left in the game
Then Stewart took over the game scoring the next eight points to give Seattle a 69-62 lead. A pair of free throws by Loyd sealed the deal for Seattle as the Storm hung on to defeat the Los Angeles Sparks 71-62.
“Sometimes she plays the game and you watch and you don’t realize that she scores so easily. You don’t realize what she’s doing in the moment until you look up and you’re like ‘Wow you’re hooping right now!’ Tonight is just a different version of that. We needed her to step up, there’s a stretch where she doesn’t miss. There are variations of greatness and excellence within her. I’ve seen a lot of great games by Stewie and today sticks out because of the will, the timely buckets, getting the win through toughness and grittiness.” Coach Quinn said.
Stewart led the way with 27 points. Jewell Loyd, returning from injury, added 18 more. Erica Wheeler led the Sparks with 22 points. Those were the only three players to reach double figures in this defensive battle.
Additional Analysis
Commissioner’s Cup Update
Not only did the Seattle Storm pick up their 7th victory in the Commissioner’s Cup standings but they got some major help from the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night. The Mercury defeated the Las Vegas Aces 99-90 in OT. That handed the Aces their third loss of the Cup standings as Las Vegas is now 5-3. Seattle improves to 7-1 and now has a commanding lead with both teams having just two games left to play.
Seattle can now clinch a spot in the Commissioner’s Cup tournament Championship game with $500K in prize money on the line with either one more victory or a Las Vegas Aces defeat. The Storm face the Mercury in Phoenix on Friday and then again on Sunday back in Seattle (Everett).
Las Vegas will host the Minnesota Lynx on Friday and then travel to Dallas to play the Wings on Sunday. If they lose either game, the Storm automatically get to play in the Cup’s title game. The only way the Aces can replace the Storm in the Commissioner’s Cup is if they win their final two games and Seattle loses their final two games and then Vegas wins the tiebreaker of point differential.
“Obviously, we’re very aware of the Commissioner’s Cup but we’re also aware of finishing these two games strong going into the break. I think that’s really the mindset. We want to go into Phoenix and have Phoenix come to us and finish our first 21 games of the season on a high note. We’re very aware of the Commissioner’s Cup and we’re going to do whatever we can to make sure we’re in that game on August 12th.” Breanna Stewart commented after learning that Vegas had lost Wednesday night.
Struggles for Lou and Cedes
While it’s only been these past two games but both Katie Lou Samuelson and Mercedes Russell have disappeared from the box score and the offense. Neither player has really looked for their shot, especially in Wednesday’s game. Samuelson finished 1-2 FG and just two points. It also felt like she deferred a couple of open shots to pass the ball to Breanna Stewart instead. During Sunday’s game against Los Angeles, Lou really struggled with her shot shooting just 1-6 from the floor in 17 minutes.
In the two-game series, Karlie Samuelson outplayed her younger sister. Karlie had 12 points and nine rebounds total in the two games. Katie Lou had four points and seven rebounds between both games. Katie Lou doesn’t need to give the Storm 15 points and seven rebounds a game. But they definitely need more production than they’ve got from her in recent games. With Stephanie Talbot leaving for Australia and missing the next two games, Samuelson needs to step up.
Mercedes Russell took just one shot on Wednesday night. Finishing the game with zero points and three rebounds in 17 minutes. On Sunday against Los Angeles, Russell took just two shots in the game finishing with two points and six rebounds in 17 minutes. Mercedes doesn’t need to be taking 8-10 shots a game, but when Seattle faced Atlanta last week she finished the game with 10 points on 4-5 FG shooting. Russell is talented and can score in the low post, the team just needs to find her down low and take advantage of any potential mismatches.
I believe part of Russell’s drop in production is the increased playing time for Ezi Magbegor who has played particularly well the past three games. Ezi had a career-high 20 points on Sunday in 23 minutes. And while her production wasn’t nearly as nice Wednesday night, she still finished with seven points and six rebounds. The seven points were tied with Talbot for the third-most points on the team in this game behind Stewart’s 27 and Loyd’s 18. With all that said, I’m confident both Ezi and Mercedes can average 15-20 points combined on most nights. If they’re both getting around 20 minutes of action, that should be the goal.
After Wednesday’s game against Los Angeles, I spoke with Coach Noelle Quinn on what Russell and Samuelson need to do to improve their scoring.
“Sometimes the matchups aren’t favorable. Mercedes started with a turnover which is something we don’t see. When Cedes is locked in, we know what she can provide. Same with Samuelson, it’s just been a couple of games where she’s not in a groove. We started out the game and tried to get her an easier touch. I think what we can continue to do is encourage them and install confidence in them. Continue for them to understand that they are big pieces with what we’re trying to do. Games like this are going to happen with the physical play (of LA), with athletic teams and guards getting into you, we just have to understand the matchups and find spots they can excel. For Cedes, that’s on the block and for Lou, that’s getting her in movement and against guards in the post-ups as well.” Coach Quinn told me after the game.
Jersey Count
Seattle wore their green and gold Explorer jerseys again in this game. It was the same uniform combination they wore in Los Angeles on Sunday. Once again, it resulted in a victory as the team improves to 5-1 on the season while wearing the traditional Seattle colors.
Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 3-3
Explorer: 5-1
Heroine: 7-0
Overall Record: 15-4
Up Next
Seattle heads to Phoenix, Arizona to face the Mercury for the first time this season on Friday at 6:00 PM PT. The game will air nationally on ESPN. Unusually, we are more than halfway through the season and the two teams have yet to face off against one another. Phoenix is coming off an impressive 99-90 OT victory over the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday night. Brittney Griner scored 33 points and Skylar Diggins-Smith added 27 more. Seattle will have their hands full as they will be without Ezi Magbegor and Stephanie Talbot who are leaving to get ready for the Olympics for Team Australia and will miss the next two games. Diana Taurasi may be out for Phoenix as she missed Wednesday night’s game with an injured hip.
Editor’s Note: Thank you for your support! If you know any Storm fans that aren’t currently aware of my coverage through Substack and Twitter (@WNBAStormChaser), please let them know. Word of mouth can be super helpful and is greatly appreciated! Photo Credits to Neil Enns/Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography.