Storm Crush Mercury 90-66

Seattle put on a show in front of their home fans.

(Seattle, WA) - After completing the most difficult four-game stretch of their season with four games against the Connecticut Sun (24-10) and the New York Liberty (28-6), Seattle was happy to be home and in front of their home fans. They did not disappoint. They put on an impressive show as they dismantled the Phoenix Mercury (17-19) by a final score of 90-66. Seattle played great in the second quarter outscoring Phoenix 28-13 to create separation after an even first period.

Jewell Loyd talked about her team’s performance after the game.

“Yeah, it's definitely momentum. You want momentum playing well. You want everything clicking in the right direction headed to playoffs. And I think that's what this does for us. We know what we're capable of and sometimes you need to see it. You want to feel it and we're able to do that tonight. And this was a full team effort. And obviously, it helps when you're playing at home and the crowd's with you too. But we know what we can do and it's nice to see it and have a full, complete game,” Loyd stated.

Coach Noelle Quinn hopes the team can build off of this.

“I hope that we can continue to play in this pocket. It's the how. The how we're playing. Today, you see glimpses of how we can be defensively locked in, offensively super efficient, and just kind of focusing on locking in on the keys to the game. And I thought that we were sharp in that area,” Quinn added.

The Storm used a balanced attack with four players scoring in double-figures and seven players scoring at least seven points or more. Jewell Loyd led the team in scoring with 20 points in just 22 minutes of action. Jewell was efficient making 50% (7-14 FG) of her shots including 50% (3-6 FG) from beyond the arc. Skylar Diggins-Smith had a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists. She also had zero turnovers.

Nneka Ogwumike missed her first five shots but got going after the slow start. She finished with 10 points and eight rebounds and made her final four shot attempts. Jordan Horston had a strong performance off the bench scoring 16 points on an incredible 7-8 FG. That included knocking down 2-3 FG on her three-point attempts. Horston also finished with five rebounds and two assists.

Seattle led in just about every category. They outshot the Mercury 43% (36-84 FG) to 36% (24-66 FG). More importantly, they shot the three-ball well connecting on 38% (12-32 FG) better than the Mercury’s 35% (10-29 FG). That stat is particularly important as the Storm have really struggled with their outside shot this season. If they can get that going it opens up the offense even more.

I spoke with Skylar Diggins-Smith about that after the game.

“As far as three points I talked about ball movement and player movement today just trying to play off of each other when we shared a basketball like that we were able to get some good looks. We were able to play in transition. But I will say, I really think it started with our activity defensively, not to be redundant, but when we can lock down there, when we're on help side, when we're getting deflections, when we're able to get out and run with good spacing, we're capable of shooting the basketball,” Diggins-Smith told me.

Coach Quinn also talked to me about how the positive three-pointer shooting percentage can impact the team’s offense.

“It could open it up, but I know I'm harping on we have to make threes, but what I like is the 40 points in the paint. So we talk about how we can offset that. We didn't shoot a lot of free throws tonight, but I thought that our second chance and our points in the paint are something that's also been consistent all season. If we can hit the threes, then I think we will see more points on the board, but I don't want to fall in love with it and take 32 every game if we're not going to be efficient. But as long as we're efficient in other areas, I think we can continue to compete at a high level,” Quinn answered.

The Storm out-rebounded the Mercury 46-34. Seattle more than doubled the Mercury’s offensive rebounds 15-7. Seattle had the advantage with points in the paint at 40-24, assists at 26-20, and bench points at 34-21.

Phoenix Mercury

Diana Taurasi can still get a bucket. The All-Time leading scorer in WNBA history continues to put the ball in the basket. She led her team in scoring with 18 points. She hit three triples, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out four assists. However, in a similar pattern to what the Storm did to Connecticut where they let DeWanna Bonner get her points, they shut down the rest of the team.

In the last game these two teams played against one another back in late June, Kahleah Copper scored 30 points on better than 50% FG shooting. Brittney Griner was just as dangerous scoring 28 points on nearly 70% FG shooting. On Saturday night in Seattle, the Storm’s defense limited Copper to just 11 points and Griner to just four.

Seattle’s defense on Copper was exceptional limiting her to just 4-16 FG shooting and a relative non-factor for the game.

Diggins-Smith talked about the defense against Brittney Griner.

“I credit, Ezi did a great job. We were doing some doubles on her. She's a tough single coverage. I thought help side was there. We were trying to make her get it and have to get rid of it and then play on the backside. But I thought it was our activity defensively, particularly with BG, just trying to make her take tough shots. Trying to have her catch it in different places. But that activity led to us being able to have some successes on offense,” Skylar told the media.

Game Breakdown

Sophie Cunningham hit a three-pointer for the game’s first basket. Skylar Diggins-Smith got the Storm on the board with a floater in the lane. Ezi Magbegor made a short jumper in the paint. Nneka Ogwumike was then able to draw a foul against the mismatch and she made both free throws.

After both teams struggled with their shot, Phoenix smartly got the ball into Brittney Griner and she finished at the rim. Kahleah Copper drilled a pull-up jumper to put the Mercury up one. Jewell Loyd countered with a banker off the glass and was fouled for the AND1. Diana Taurasi got in the lane to tie the game at 9-9. Gabby Williams made a big cut to the basket and finished for two.

Cunningham hit another three-pointer to give the Mercury a 1-point advantage. Loyd was able to draw a foul against Cunningham and made both free throws. Natasha Mack made a shot near the free throw line. Ezi cut past the defense for two. Diana Taurasi made an open three-pointer. Jewell Loyd banked a runner off the glass to tie the game at 17-17. Both teams were tied at the end of the first period.

Nneka Ogwumike used a step-through to get past the defense and lay it in to begin the 2nd quarter. Griner evened things up with a layup. Jordan Horston received a pass from Diggins-Smith and finished with a short jump hook in the paint.

Mercedes Russell was called for a defensive 3-second call for defending Brittney Griner inside the paint. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before where a player is called for the violation while defending another player who has the ball in their hand. I briefly spoke to Coach Quinn about that play after the game and she said she thinks the refs may have made an error and called the violation on the wrong player.

The Storm used an 8-0 run to take a 29-20 lead. Skylar Diggins-Smith drilled a three-pointer. Nneka Ogwumike scored at the rim. And then Jordan Horston made an open three. Seattle continued their strong play. Horston made two more shots in a row inside the paint getting assists from Skylar Diggins-Smith on both plays. Skylar then got a big steal where she ripped the ball away from Sophie Cunningham. Seattle got out in transition and Horston found Sami Whitcomb open for a corner three-ball. That put the Storm up 36-23.

Kahleah Copper split a pair of free throws. Sami hit another three-pointer. Diana Taurasi made four free throws over the next couple of possessions. Nneka made a hook shot and Ezi got a layup. Jordan Horston scored at the rim but with just a few seconds to go in the first half, Taurasi used a physical drive to score in the paint. Despite that, Seattle dominated the second quarter outscoring the Mercury 28-13 and led 45-30 at halftime.

Sophie Cunningham drilled a three-pointer to start the 2nd half just as she did to start the game. Nneka responded with a jumper in the paint on the other end. Copper hit a three-ball for Phoenix and Ezi scored for Seattle with a layup.

Diggins-Smith made a corner three and was fouled. She made the free throw for the impressive four-point play. SDS then got a steal deflection that Jewell recovered. She moved the ball back up to Skylar who raced down the court and hit Gabby Williams in stride for the layup. That put the Storm up 19 points at 55-36 and forced Mercury Coach Nate Tibbetts to call another timeout.

Out of the timeout, Diana Taurasi hit a three-pointer. Skylar countered with another triple but Natasha Cloud answered with her own. Loyd hit a jumper off a curl. Taurasi knocked in another three-pointer. Both guards were red-hot as Jewell hit a three. Loyd then hit another three to put the Storm up 21 at 66-45. It was raining threes in the third period.

Natasha Mack was solid for the Mercury hitting a couple of shots from the midrange. Loyd continued her hot shooting making another jumper. Sami Whitcomb made her third three-pointer of the game and Seattle’s 5th of the quarter. Gabby Williams drove down the lane for two. The Storm led 73-51 at the end of the third period.

Celeste Taylor scored a layup to begin the 4th quarter. Loyd responded with her third three-pointer. Kahleah Copper got an easy layup that forced Coach Quinn to call a timeout to ensure her team wouldn’t get lazy with their defense after giving up back-to-back layups.

Both teams went cold missing a combined 12 field goals in a row over roughly three minutes of action. Jordan ended the drought with a layup. Both teams went to their bench as Seattle led by 20+ points with five minutes remaining in the game.

Former Storm player, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan got a layup. Monique Billings was fouled and made both free throws. Joyner Holmes got in on the action with a layup. Mercedes Russell knocked down a deep jumper. Billings scored again at the rim. Horston made her second three-pointer of the game because when you’re hot, you’re hot. Celeste Taylor scored with a drive to the hoop. Kiki Herbert Harrigan knocked down a three-pointer. Joyner Holmes scored on a layup and then connected on a three-pointer.

Nika Mühl checked into the game with around six minutes to play. She did not score the first points of her WNBA career and took just one shot, a three-point attempt. However, she did get three assists on baskets from Horston, Russell, and Holmes.

Joyner’s three was the last field goal of the game as the Storm finished off the Mercury by a final score of 90-66.

Final Box Score

Additional Analysis

Skylar Breaks Bird’s Record

Skylar Diggins-Smith broke Sue Bird’s single-season assist record with her 11 assists in Saturday night’s game. Diggins-Smith now has 222 assists on the season surpassing the legendary Sue Bird who set the record twice in 2003 and again in 2018 with 221 assists. And while it’s true that the WNBA season is longer now than it was when Sue played. Diggins-Smith accomplished this in 35 games. Very similar to the original 34 games that Bird and the WNBA played between 2003 through 2019. And Sue played in a season in 2022 where the league played 36 games.

Skylar spoke about the accomplishment after the game.

“I love Sue Bird too. The standard that she set for this organization. She’s a Hall of Famer. I look up to her. I’ve always admired her game. To even be mentioned in the same sentence as her is an honor. Hopefully, I can just continue to build off of that,” Diggins-Smith said.

“I got a lot of good people that can make shots for me. That's all that means. I play with a lot of talent around here. When you're surrounded by talent, it's easy to get assists. Shout out to Sue Bird, though. Obviously, we know the impact that she has. And continues to have on our game, and on our league, and being one of the shoulders that we stand on in this league, One of the pillars. And so I recognize that I know what coming here meant. I always want to honor her in that way, respectfully, which she's built here and just try to build off of that and play with that essence of being a winner and trying to take that mindset. And so I don't take it lightly being in the same category, same sentence, same breath as her. And hopefully, I can just continue to build off of this,” SDS added during the post-game press conference.

I also asked her about her comfort level with herself and within the offense now compared to the start of the season.

“I mean, coming off maternity leave, I knew I probably wasn't in the shape I would have liked to be to start the season. It just is what it is when you’re kind of in uncharted territories. But I just appreciate my teammates and the organization having a lot of patience with me. The Olympic break did me well. I was able to get a lot of time in and just try to be ready when they came back from the Olympics and be ready to do my part and turn it up.” Skylar answered.

It truly is remarkable what Skylar has been able to do all season long, especially since the Olympic break. For her to return to the WNBA, the toughest league in the world, after giving birth to her second child and being away from the pro game for 20 months. And is averaging nearly 15 PPG, 6.5 APG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.5 SPG.

I don’t think the Storm organization or the fan base could have asked any more from Skylar after giving birth to her second child. And when she plays, you know she is giving everything she has out there on the court. To watch her play is inspiring!

Gabby and Jordan

In their win against Connecticut, Gabby Williams played very well finishing with 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Gabby followed up that game with the best performance of her short season with the Storm. In Seattle’s 77-70 loss to New York, Gabby finished with 17 points on 8-13 FG shooting, plus five assists, and four rebounds.

On Saturday, in Seattle’s dominant win against the Mercury. It was Jordan Horston’s turn. Jordan had her best game of the season finishing with 16 points on 7-8 FG including 2-3 FG from beyond the arc.

Both are dynamic wing players who can do a bit of everything on the court. They are both potential lockdown defenders. They are also good rebounders and passers. They have the guard skills to be able to bring the ball up the court and make plays to get their teammates open looks. They can both use their athletic gifts to score at or around the rim. Both are improving their outside shot.

With her excellent shooting performance against Phoenix on Saturday, Horston is now shooting above 50% on the season overall and nearly 58% from two-point range. That’s an incredible leap from her rookie season where she made under 37% of her shots. It is also eerily similar to the growth we saw from Jackie Young between her first and second seasons in the WNBA. I have long felt that Jordan shares some similar characteristics to Young in that she’s tall and strong but can play as a guard. Young’s development in her early seasons saw her get a lot of her shots against smaller defenders in and around the paint. Jordan has seen similar improvement this season. And just as Jordan went from 37% to 50%, Young improved from 32% to 49% in her second season in the WNBA.

While neither Gabby nor Jordan are going to likely be a 12-15 PPG player this season. The fact that they both have that potential adds to Seattle’s weapons and the Storm’s depth. Seattle is almost always going to get strong contributions from Loyd, Ogwumike, Diggins-Smith, and Magbegor. But when they don’t, having Williams and Horston playing well can help make up for that. In Saturday’s game against Phoenix, Horston stepped up with 16 points when Nneka and Ezi both scored below their season averages. On Tuesday against New York, Jewell was held to just six points but Gabby stepped up to score 17 points. It was almost enough for the Storm to beat the Liberty because they have that depth now. Instead of getting killed by 25-30 points when Jewell struggles, they can be competitive if not outright win some games.

I spoke with both Loyd and Coach Quinn about what it means for the team to have both Gabby and Jordan producing for the Storm.

“It makes us a tough matchup. I think they're so similar in how they move and their activity level and athleticism as well. So when they're both active on both ends of the floor, it just allows so much more movement and spacing. It just puts a lot of pressure on the defense. And their ability also to push the ball ahead themselves. This is another guard too, another point guard. So it's great to see that they're both in rhythm and that's what we need from them.” Loyd replied.

Coach Quinn shared her thoughts on having both Gabby and Jordan produce.

“Yeah, it's huge. It's going to be a concerted effort, a team effort. And when we have the others being efficient in that area, especially on the offensive end, it gives us a huge boost. But again, it's not just Jordan's points, but her activity, her playmaking, and the other things that really matter for us to be successful. So, yes, Gabby, the other day it was good to see her comfortable in that pocket. And the things that she's doing on the court, being a playmaker, initiating offense. This is why she's a very good player for us because of her versatility.” Quinn added.

Levels To This

After the Storm played four difficult games against the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun, we got to see them go up against the two best teams in the league. There were struggles. They got killed on rebounds in the first game against New York. They let Sabrina Ionescu go off in that game. Seattle couldn’t stop Brionna Jones in their first road game in Connecticut. They also got lost too many times on defense allowing players like Ty Harris and Veronic Burton to score in double figures. Then bounced back with an excellent defensive win in Connecticut by shutting down all of those extra players besides Jones and DeWanna Bonner and limiting who was damaging the team. And before they gave up a 17-2 run late in the 3rd quarter and the early 4th against New York, it looked like they might split the four games against the WNBA’s top teams 2-2. Ultimately, they settled for 1-3 and some more lessons learned.

While the Storm haven’t quite elevated to the top-tier championship contender status yet, they certainly proved they are a level above the Phoenix Mercury right now. Maybe two levels above. Both teams are playoff teams but outside of the first quarter, these teams did not look even at all. Seattle dominated in almost every single facet whether it was shooting, rebounding, points in the paint, bench points, etc. If they can play as well as they did against Phoenix, they can beat anyone in the league.

Coach Quinn talked about that after the game and how that difficult road trip helped the Storm even if it didn’t always result in wins.

“I think it did (help) because we showed that we can compete with the top portion of this league, but also what we did in those games was shift our mentality defensively and brought it back to where we were when we were on pace and doing things really well. And I thought playing a physical team like Connecticut matters with what you do defensively. And I thought that we had some carryover into that New York game and then obviously today. So I think our defense is a steady improvement. It's improving. It's kept us steady the entire season. And then you add some offense to that. I think that those reps that we got on the road really impacted today.” Quinn said.

It’s unclear if the Storm will be able to seriously compete for a Championship this season. They will have a very difficult path to get there as they’re currently slotted to face the Las Vegas Aces in the first round, likely on the road. And if they managed to take down the two-time defending champs in the opening round their reward would be to face a (likely) 30+ win New York Liberty team in the Semi-Finals. But the Storm’s roster is talented enough to win a championship. Especially if their players hit their stride in the playoffs. If they can start knocking down their three-pointers like they did against the Mercury in this game. Their defense should allow them to stay competitive as long as they stay focused on that end of the court.

The Storm could shock the WNBA world and win a championship this season. Or maybe they’re building for that championship run in 2025 as they build up a full season of team chemistry this year.

Up Next

The Storm (21-14) head back out on the road for two more games. The first will be on Wednesday, September 11th at 7:00 PM against the Los Angeles Sparks in LA. Seattle is still playing with home-court advantage on the line in the first round of the playoffs. They remain 1.5 games behind the Las Vegas Aces but still play Vegas one more time. And the Aces have some difficult games coming up including at New York on Sunday, two games at Indiana, at home against Connecticut, and on the road against the Storm. If Seattle manages to win out all of their remaining games to finish 26-14, I strongly believe they would finish as a Top 4 team to guarantee home playoff games at Climate Pledge Arena.

Notes:
Photo Credits to Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography
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