Storm hand Connecticut their first loss in epic OT clash! (Free Edition)
Two of the best teams in the WNBA battled on Tuesday with the Storm coming out on top 90-87.
(Everett, WA) - The Seattle Storm continue to find ways to win ball games early into the 2021 season. For the second time in as many games, Seattle outlasted their opponents in overtime to win by three. On Tuesday night, the Storm defeated the previously undefeated Connecticut Sun (5-1) by a final score of 90-87.
The Connecticut Sun arrived in Seattle the hottest team in the WNBA winning their first five games of the season. A stark contrast from how they started the 2020 season going 0-5 as they really struggled out of the gate inside the bubble environment.
The biggest difference between this year’s Connecticut team and last year’s? Well, that would be Jonquel Jones. Jones opted out of the 2020 bubble season last year but is back with Connecticut this year and ready to make another run at the title. The last time Jones played in the WNBA was in 2019, where she lost in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals to the Washington Mystics. The two-time All-Star looks determined to lead her team back to the Finals again. She outplayed Breanna Stewart in this game in a battle of potential MVP candidates.
As impressive as Jones was, ultimately it was Seattle who pulled off the victory. Once again proving that you’ll have to go through the defending champs if you want to be the best in this league.
And it was the oldest player in the league that proved to be the biggest difference-maker in the end. Sue Bird’s clutch three-pointers in overtime were enough to hold off a fierce Connecticut Sun team and give the home team the victory.
Bird finished the game with a team-high 21 points, including six in the OT period. Jewell Loyd continues to impress with another terrific overall game with 19 points, a team-high five assists, and eight rebounds. Breanna Stewart finished with another double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. However, she really struggled to get into a good offensive rhythm. Stewart was held scoreless in the entire 2nd and 3rd quarters (and most of the 4th). Stephanie Talbot was the only other player to score in double figures with 11. Candice Dupree gave Seattle some nice production in limited minutes, scoring eight points in eight minutes off the bench.
The Connecticut Sun had four of their five starters score in double figures led by Jonquel Jones who had 28 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, and two blocked shots. She was an absolute force out there on the court Tuesday night. Brionna Jones continued her strong start to the season with 19 points. Often times scoring at will in the low post. DeWanna Bonner had a relatively quiet 15 points but hit some key shots late in the game. And Natisha Hiedeman added 14 points with most of them coming in the 2nd quarter where she unleashed a barrage of threes on Seattle.
Game Breakdown
The first quarter was a fun battle between both teams as they looked excellent exchanging baskets. Stephanie Talbot gave the Storm an early boost by knocking down two three-pointers. Seattle was able to build an eight-point lead by getting a steal that led to a fastbreak layup by Breanna Stewart. Then they got a defensive stop, followed by a transition three from Breanna Stewart to go up 19-11. The Connecticut Sun called timeout and responded well by quickly going on an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game at 19-19.
Connecticut got most of their first-quarter points in the low post. Brionna Jones and Jonquel Jones combined for 18 points. Seattle had success from long range, knocking down 5-7 (71%) from beyond the arc. Breanna Stewart led Seattle with 12 points including a three in Seattle’s final possession to put the Storm up four points 27-23.
Candice Dupree gave the Storm a huge boost off the bench in the 2nd quarter. She scored eight points. She had an excellent drive down the baseline to score a basket and draw a foul on Jonquel Jones in the process. It was Jones’ 2nd personal foul and forced her to the bench for a few minutes to avoid foul trouble. Then Dupree knocked down a three-pointer which was a pleasant surprise as throughout her career she has not been known for her three-point range.
Natisha Heideman and Jasmine Thomas hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game at 35-35.
Heideman went unconscious from three in the quarter knocking down four shots from beyond the arc. Including an absolutely ridiculous bank shot, you can see below.
Trailing 40-35 with four minutes to play in the first half, Seattle finished the second quarter on an 11-0 run.
The Storm regained the lead back with a nice driving layup by Jewell Loyd, followed up by a midrange jumper at the foul line by Sue Bird. Loyd got to the foul line on a fast break steal where DeWanna Bonner took an intentional foul to stop the breakaway (likely not realizing they were in the penalty). Seattle then forced a jump ball and Stephanie Talbot got shoved out of bounds by Kaila Charles that sent Talbot to the line. She sank both free throws and Seattle took a 46-40 lead into the locker rooms.
Brionna Jones dominated the low post early in the third quarter cutting Seattle’s lead down to just two points at 48-46.
Overall, the Storm seemed to be the more aggressive team in the third quarter. Seattle had active hands-on defense deflecting passes out of bounds and getting steals. They were able to turn that defense into fastbreak opportunities. They also did a good job of attacking the basket and drawing fouls on Connecticut. The Storm were able to get into the bonus with about five minutes remaining in the quarter.
This allowed the Storm to push their lead back up to ten on a pair of Mercedes Russell free throws at 58-48.
Breanna Stewart pushed the pace off a defensive rebound and found Jewell Loyd for a three to put Seattle up double digits at 61-50. It didn’t last long, however, as Connecticut immediately went on a 9-0 run after calling a timeout. Ezi Magbegor was able to get a layup to finish the quarter with the Storm up four at 63-59.
Jonquel Jones went on an immediate 5-0 run to begin the 4th quarter to put the Connecticut Sun back up one. Seattle’s coaches immediately called for Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, and Breanna Stewart to come back into the game.
Connecticut had gone on a 14-2 run between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter.
Jewell Loyd helped Seattle regain the lead with a midrange jumper and a trip to the foul line. DeWanna Bonner tied the game back up at 66-66 by scoring in the low post against Stephanie Talbot.
Breanna Stewart missed two key free throws around the 6:20 mark. Loyd was able to get a driving layup and then a three-pointer. Sue Bird then knocked down a shot from beyond the arc to put Seattle up five at 74-69.
Seattle had two opportunities to extend their lead to seven points, but both Jewell Loyd and Stephanie Talbot missed layups near the rim.
Stewart knocked down two free throws with three minutes remaining in the game to push Seattle’s lead to six at 76-70. It was Stewart’s first points since the first quarter.
A key moment late in the game saw Connecticut’s Natisha Hiedeman fall to the ground after some contact and she was not able to get back up. The Sun were extremely smart and did not foul at this moment which a team would normally do in this situation. However, with Seattle leading by six and Connecticut in the penalty, they couldn’t afford to send the Storm to the foul line which could have pushed Seattle’s lead to eight with two minutes left in the game. Instead, Connecticut opted to play five-on-four and managed to stop Seattle, and then called a timeout to get Hiedeman medical help.
Connecticut’s assistant coach Brandi Poole told reporters after the game that it was a calf injury but she does not believe it to be serious. Hiedeman did not return to the game after she left the court late in the 4th quarter.
Seattle’s six-point lead evaporated thanks to DeWanna Bonner and Jonquel Jones. Bonner got Talbot in the post for an easy two, but Talbot made a critical mistake committing a late foul that gave Bonner the AND1 opportunity. Free throws and a three-pointer by Jonquel Jones tied the game at 77-77 with under a minute to play.
Assistant Coach Noelle Quinn drew up a play for Seattle to try and score quickly and give themselves a two-for-one opportunity. It worked as Sue Bird was able to draw the foul quickly and knocked down a pair of free throws that allowed Seattle to regain the lead at 79-77. However, DiJonai Carrington snuck past her defender down the baseline in the final seconds of regulation for a reverse layup to tie the game and send the game into extra minutes.
Sue Bird electrified the crowd in overtime by knocking down two free three-pointers in the first minute of OT to give Seattle an eight-point lead at 87-79. The Connecticut Sun wouldn’t go away as they quickly went on their own 5-0 run to cut Seattle’s lead to just three points with a basket from Jonquel Jones and a traditional three-point play by Jasmine Thomas with a layup and free throw.
Seattle finally weathered the storm outlasting Connecticut in overtime 90-87. Breanna Stewart hit a big three to put the Storm up 90-84 with 2:37 to play and their defense was able to hold the Sun to just three more points over the final two and a half minutes. The home team improved to 4-1 on the season.
Additional Analysis
The first thing that goes through my head is that was an incredible game of basketball. Similar to Game 5 of the WNBA semi-finals playoffs in 2018 against the Phoenix Mercury, this game was a fantastic game by both teams. One that I would happily show to any person if they were interested in learning more about how exciting the WNBA can be.
From Seattle’s side, you had Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, and Breanna Stewart carrying the load. Knocking down clutch threes and completing acrobatic layups through the lane. For the Connecticut Sun, Jonquel Jones put on an absolute clinic in this game. Breanna Stewart gets all the media hype and rightfully so. But if you aren’t familiar with Jonquel Jones you need to be! Just like Stewie, Jonquel Jones has handles like a small guard. But Jones is 6’6” and has the power to match. She can knock down the three, as she did late in the game where she went between her legs with a filthy step-back. On top of that, she has the height and strength to dominate in the low post even more so than Stewart. JJ is one of the best players on the planet and deserves to be recognized as such.
There wasn’t much to complain about in this game. Seattle outrebounded the best rebounding team in the WNBA 38-37. The Storm only committed 12 turnovers while forcing Connecticut into 16. Their bench outscored the Sun’s reserves 15-2. The home team did a lot of things correctly. I guess the only concern would be that they did all of that and the game still went down to the wire, going into overtime where they barely won by just three points. But watching the game, I feel that’s more a credit to Connecticut that proved their 5-0 start was not a fluke and they are a real contender this season. They gave the Storm everything they could handle and Seattle was just a tiny bit better.
How good are the Connecticut Sun? Their 5-0 record before Seattle indicates they’re a good team, but diving deeper into advanced metrics shows that they are a really good team right now. After six games, they have the highest Offensive Rating (106.0), the highest Defensive Rating (93.1), and (not surprisingly) the highest Net Rating (12.9). That means they score 106 points per 100 possessions and give up just 93 points to opponents.
How do the Storm stack up? Well, they are an extremely good offensive team, the second-best in the league, in fact, just a hair behind Connecticut (105.3 OFF RTG), but their defense has been a struggle so far (101.4 DEF RTG). That would make them currently the third-worst defensive team in the WNBA. A stat that is a little shocking, but probably shouldn’t be considering they lost two of the best defensive players in the entire league in Alysha Clark and Natasha Howard.
If you have been watching these games there’s a huge problem with their post defense as teams are just passing the ball down low and getting easy basket after easy basket. It happened with A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage, it happened with Sylvia Fowles, and on Tuesday night it happened with Jonquel and Brionna Jones.
Mercedes Russell has certainly helped improve Seattle’s interior defense. But anytime she’s not in the game these teams are just seemingly scoring at will when they get the ball deep into the paint. This is something the Storm are really going to have to improve throughout the season if they hope to repeat as WNBA champions.
I will say, after watching these two teams go at it Tuesday night, I certainly wouldn’t mind watching them compete in the WNBA Finals against one another at the end of the year. If this game was any indication, basketball fans around the country would be in for quite a treat!
Editors Notes: Thanks for all of your support! If you enjoyed this article and are interested in more content like this, paid subscribers receive the game recap articles in their full extended versions with more analysis, more game details, and quotes from players and coaches. And will also receive it in the early morning the day after the game. Photo Credit: Seattle Storm/Neil Enns.