Storm Defeat Mystics 84-75 For 1st Win
A full team effort led to Seattle's first win of the season.
(Washington D.C.) - It’s a little ridiculous to call the 3rd game of a 40-game season a MUST-WIN but in a lot of ways, this game felt like that. The Storm had a disappointing home debut where they lost by double digits to the Minnesota Lynx. Then, despite a valiant effort, they came up short again. This time in double-overtime against that same Lynx team. With the team facing the powerhouse New York Liberty on the second game of a back-to-back on Monday, the Storm really did need to pick up a road victory against the injured Washington Mystics. And that’s exactly what they did. Seattle dominated the fourth quarter of a close game and came away with an 84-75 win.
Both teams were shorthanded as the Washington Mystics were without starters Shakira Austin and Brittney Sykes. While the Storm were without All-Star Nneka Ogwumike and backup point guard Nika Mühl. Specifically in Ogwumike’s absence, the team needed others to step up. And they did.
The remainder of the “Core Four” all had big games. Despite another slow start shooting the basketball where she started 0-6 FG, Jewell Loyd led the team in scoring with a game-high 24 points. Loyd finished the game shooting 6-19 FG but impressively got to the foul line and made 12-14 FT. Skylar Diggins-Smith added to the offensive punch with 18 points, a team-high five assists, and five rebounds. Ezi Magbegor had an impressive double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
I spoke with Jewell after the game about her getting into a better shooting rhythm and coming away with the win.
“It obviously feels great when you’re hitting shots. Honestly, I was just trying to get into a rhythm. Early on, we were all short on our shots or rushed a couple of shots. For all of us, we were able to take what the defense was giving us. We fought through a lot of physicality today. At halftime, I told everyone to slow down a little bit so that we could actually see it, feel it, and adjust. We were just trying to stay ready and feeding off of each other. I think that’s what we did today.” Loyd said.
But it wasn’t just Seattle’s primary core. They got contributions from others like Mercedes Russell, Jordan Horston, Victoria Vivians, and Sami Whitcomb too. Russell got the start in place of Ogwumike and contributed with eight points, five rebounds, two steals, and solid defense. Horston scored all five of her points in the first period and pulled down seven rebounds. While Horston provided a spark early, Vivians closed the game out and scored all seven of her points in the 2nd half including five in the final quarter.
“I feel my teammates have trust in me to make those offensive plays. I think I definitely needed to step up with Nneka out. Not just this game; even with Nneka as well. Coming back, just staying on that course. With Cedes, Tori, and Jordan, I feel like they all made their presence known offensively. Cedes is so great to play with just with her facilitating as a post-player. With Jordan and Tori, executing defensively as well. I think we all contributed today. It was definitely a team effort. We got great minutes from everyone.” Magbegor told me after the game.
The biggest key to Seattle’s victory was their ability to rebound the ball. They out-rebounded the Mystics 43-29 overall and had a 14-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. Seattle converted that into 21 extra second-chance points while limiting D.C. to just five points from their six offensive rebounds. The Storm also had a 36-30 edge with points in the paint.
I talked to Coach Noelle Quinn after the game about the team’s focus on rebounding.
“I saw some toughness that we haven’t had in the past couple of games. We’ve had good energy but just finishing certain plays in certain moments/crucial moments. In crucial possessions, we hadn’t been finishing out plays. That’s what I saw. Ezi with 11 defensive rebounds. The gang rebound aspect of it. Everyone is trying to pursue and get in there. Being strong with the ball, squeezing it. So I thought there was some more toughness behind that today.” Quinn stated.
While the Storm are still struggling from the three-point line connecting on just 25% (5-20 FG), they were slightly better than the Mystics on their overall field goal percentage, 41% (28-68 FG) to 40% (25-62 FG). They got to the free throw line an additional six times compared to the Mystics and were a +7 on free throw makes (23-16).
Washington Mystics
Without Brittney Sykes and Shakira Austin, the Mystics had a tough time scoring. Seattle kept the Mystics to less than 20 points per quarter except for the third period where Washington exploded for 30. The Storm’s defense tightened up and limited them to just 11 points in the final quarter.
Ariel Atkins led the team with 19 points. Karlie Samuelson added 13 points including nine in the first quarter. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough had some impressive plays scoring 12 points off the bench on 5-7 FG shooting. That included 10 points in the 2nd half to help keep the Mystics competitive.
While the Mystics were out-rebounded, they were much better about sharing the basketball. They doubled Seattle in assists 20-10. They also were much better from the three-point range connecting on 35% (9-26 FG) of their shots.
Game Breakdown
Both teams really struggled on offense to begin this game. Neither team scored through the first two minutes. Seattle’s offense looked awful and out of sorts to begin the game. They didn’t get a single good look on offense through their first five possessions. Skylar Diggins-Smith finally was able to get dribble penetration and found a cutting Mercedes Russell for the game’s first basket.
Washington Mystics opened their scoring with a nice drive to the rim by Aaliyah Edwards. Then they got out in transition which led to a three-ball from Karlie Samuelson. A nice Eurostep by Ariel Atkins put the Mystics up five at 7-2. Seattle was held to just one made basket roughly five minutes into the first period.
Coach Noelle Quinn, quickly went to her bench subbing in Kiana Williams and Jordan Horston. Horston was able to quickly get an offensive rebound and a put-back layup. Seattle finally took the lead on an Ezi Magbegor corner three. Mercedes Russell followed that up by getting fouled and knocking down a pair of free throws.
Karlie Samuelson knocked down her second three-pointer of the game to end Seattle’s 9-0 run. Another triple from Samuelson that came from an offensive rebound put the Mystics back on top 15-13.
Diggins-Smith found Horston open for a three and she knocked it down. Horston was able to get the Storm another possession with another offensive rebound. She found Skylar who sank a midrange jumper to put Seattle up 18-15 at the end of the first quarter.
Seattle did a great job with their rebounding, collecting eight offensive rebounds in the first half. Mercedes Russell and Ezi Magbegor each were able to capitalize on their second chances with layups.
The Mystics had another turnover although there was some contact that the refs didn’t call. This angered the Mystics’ coach Eric Thibault who picked up a technical foul to fire up his team. Loyd made the free throw shot, but then D.C. got two consecutive stops, including a steal and an uncontested fast break layup, to cut Seattle’s lead down to four at 25-21.
After Coach Quinn’s timeout, Ezi was able to drive past the defense for two. She got fouled but missed the free throw. After another defensive stop, Jewell knocked down back-to-back jumpers to put Seattle up 10 at 31-21.
Loyd continued to knock down shots and also got to the foul line. Jewell scored 11 points in the second quarter and finally started to look like her true self.
Skylar Diggins-Smith then drove into the lane and banked in a shot to put the Storm up 15 at 39-24. But after their 14-3 run, the Mystics battled back to close the second period on a 10-0 run. Seattle led 39-34 at the midway point.
Aaliyah Edwards got to the foul line to begin the third period to extend that run to 12-0. Mercedes ended it by just bullying her way for two. The Mystics continued their improved play. A layup by Edwards and then a three-pointer by Atkins gave D.C. the lead back at 45-43.
Both teams continued to battle back and forth swapping the lead on multiple possessions. Shatori Walker-Kimbrough knocked down a three and then Atkins hit another deep jumper to put the Mystics up four at 53-49. Walker-Kimbrough then buried another three after two free throws from Magbegor.
Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu scored her first basket of the season off an offensive rebound. DiDi Richards hit a tough short jumper over Horston in the paint and then was fouled on the next possession to add two more points. Skylar connected on a three-pointer with just seconds left in the quarter to cut the Mystics lead down to two. D.C. outscored Seattle by seven in the third and took a 64-62 lead into the 4th and final period.
Diggins-Smith had a bad pass that was intercepted by Walker-Kimbrough who raced past Loyd for the easy two. Diggins-Smith did a much better job on the next possession running pick-and-roll with Ezi who rolled right to the rim for two.
Victoria Vivians knocked down a deep three that was crucial to keep Seattle in the game as Washington had forced a couple of turnovers and had converted on the other end. Seattle then regained the lead on Loyd’s two free throws at 69-68. Skylar was able to get into the lane and was fouled. She made both of her free throws as well. Another drive to the rim by Diggins-Smith put the Storm ahead 73-68.
Jewell had a nice dribble down the baseline into a reverse layup to put the Storm back up six points. Atkins responded off the glass with a midrange jumper on the other end. Loyd then got two more free throws to make it 77-71 Seattle.
It became more of a free throw battle as Karlie Samuelson was able to draw the foul for two free throws. But then Loyd was able to draw yet another foul to keep the lead at six. An offensive rebound led to one made free throw by Magbegor. Then Victoria Vivians was able to intercept the ball and push it ahead to Diggins-Smith for the wide-open layup. That put Seattle up nine at 82-73.
Vivians knocked down a couple more free throws, Seattle’s 28th and 29th attempts of the game. Julie Vanloo finished the Mystics’ scoring with a layup. Seattle won the game 84-75.
Final Box Score
Additional Analysis
Coach Quinn’s 50th Win
It was announced on the broadcast and again during the post-game press conference that this was Coach Noelle Quinn’s 50th career win as the head coach of the Seattle Storm. It’s a cool milestone and surprisingly it places Quinn third all-time in wins for a Seattle Storm head coach. With 50 wins, Noelle surpassed Coach Dan Hughes who had 49 wins. Quinn now trails just the late Anne Donovan (93) and Brian Agler (136).
Storm Coaching Records:
Brian Agler 136 W | 102 L
Anne Donovan 93 W | 77 L
Noelle Quinn 50 W | 55 L
Dan Hughes 49 W | 25 L
Jenny Boucek 36 W | 58 L
Lin Dunn 33 W | 63 L
Gary Kloppenburg 23 W | 7 L
More Credit to Quinn
For this game specifically, I thought she managed the 4th quarter very well. She essentially played her starters the entire time outside of Mercedes Russell being on the bench for the first minute. Even when Russell picked up her 5th foul with nearly five minutes left to play, she could have panicked and subbed her out for a couple of minutes. Instead, she trusted Russell to not make any foolish mistakes or cheap fouls and left her in the game. There was a moment when Mercedes was alerted that was her 5th foul, they had a quick on-court discussion, and she stayed in the game. It allowed Russell to stay and protect the paint alongside Ezi Magbegor, limiting the offense that the Mystics were able to run.
She also left Victoria Vivians in the game instead of subbing back in Jordan Horston. This was a vote of confidence in Vivians, something she probably needs right now because up until this game she had not scored or contributed much of anything on the box scores. Quinn’s faith in Vivians paid off as “Tori” had her best quarter of the early season contributing with five points, an assist, a rebound, and two critical steals on the defensive end.
If Vivians is going to be taking up a roster spot and especially if she’s going to be starting, the Storm need to have her produce. And this game was hopefully the start of that.
Multiple players stepped up and Coach Quinn talked about that with me.
“The biggest thing for Ezi today was to look at the rim and be aggressive. I thought she hadn’t been doing that as consistently and I thought today her presence was felt on both ends of the floor. I thought Cedes had excellent minutes; was tough to the rim. Her number one role this year is to just be a force on both ends and I felt her force. I also felt her talking and communicating. Her pick-and-roll defense and coverages were very, very good. Jordan, she had seven rebounds. Her activity with the rebounding has helped. Even in those moments of slight miscues or whatever it is. I thought her energy helped. And with Tori, Tori is going to help us. She hit a big three. The confidence is going to come. I thought she had good defensive moments. I thought she remained solid and poised. That’s what I really like about her. She’s able to sustain, in crucial times in the game, that helped us get over the hump. Much of our support cast is going to be important throughout the entire season but more specifically tomorrow on a back-to-back. Throw Sami in there too. They need to give us good minutes and I know they will.” Quinn replied.
Free Throws the Great Equalizer
Jewell Loyd led the WNBA in Free Throw Attempts last season where she averaged 7.5 FTA per game. And she shot just under 90% at 89%. That was better than even A’ja Wilson (7.2 FTA), Breanna Stewart (6.0 FTA), or Alyssa Thomas (4.7 FTA).
It should come as no surprise then that Jewell Loyd currently leads the WNBA in Free Throw Attempts, currently at an astounding 9.3 FTA per game. She’s had 25 Free Throw Attempts in just the past two games alone. Loyd is living at the line. And that is so incredibly important, especially because early on this season she hasn’t seen her shot go through the net at nearly an efficient enough rate. But if the shots aren’t falling, what are players taught to do? They’re always taught to get to the rim. Go for higher percentage shot attempts and look to draw contact to get to the foul line.
The beauty of this is how intelligent Loyd has gotten in regards to feeling the defender’s contact. She is getting to the free throw line at such a high clip because she can read the defense when they make a mistake. Whether that’s reaching in, leaning in, jumping in the air, etc. She will find that weak point and exploit it.
What’s also important is that other players with Seattle can also be effective at getting to the free throw line. Skylar Diggins-Smith is another guard who is excellent at getting dribble penetration into the paint and getting to the line. Throughout her career, she’s averaged 5.3 FTA per game. Diggins-Smith is currently at 4.3 FTA but I expect that to improve as she gets more and more comfortable playing back in the WNBA after being away for well over a year.
As a team, the Storm currently lead the WNBA in total Free Throw Attempts. They have 72 attempts in just three games which is an average of 24 FTA/game. Of the four WNBA teams that have currently played three games, they are by far in first place.
Seattle 72
New York 54
Washington 48
Indiana 47
If we go by average, Seattle’s 24 FTA/game would rank 2nd in the WNBA only behind the Connecticut Sun who are currently averaging 25.5 FTA/game but only through two games.
Getting to the free throw line consistently generally guarantees success in the WNBA. Last season, the top four teams by number of free throw attempts all made the playoffs.
If you recall, the Bill Laimbeer Las Vegas Aces teams built their identity around getting more free throws than anyone else. It led them to the WNBA Finals in 2020 against Seattle. And while the Aces didn’t win a WNBA Championship until they converted to a more modern three-point-heavy offense with Becky Hammon, the recipe still led them to a lot of success.
While it’s only been three games, Seattle’s three-point shooting has not been a strong suit this season. Until they improve that, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to build their identity around getting to the foul line significantly more than their opponents.
Up Next
One more road game, today, Monday, May 20th at 4:00 PM PDT against Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty. Hopefully, Nneka Ogwumike will be healthy enough to play so we can see how this new-look Storm measure up to one of the best teams in the WNBA.
Notes:
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