Storm Lifeless as Sky Win Big 102-79
Jewell Loyd's 26 points weren't enough against Chicago's balanced attack.
(Chicago, Illinois) - After winning four games in a row on the road the Seattle Storm ran into a major roadblock in Chicago. The Sky dominated the game from the jump outscoring Seattle in every single quarter. Chicago led by 31 points deep into the 4th period and finished off the Storm with a 23-point victory at 102-79.
Jewell Loyd led the team in scoring with 26 points but she didn’t get enough contributions from her teammates. Ezi Magbegor added 13 points and Sami Whitcomb pitched in with 10 points as the only other Storm players to score in double figures.
Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu added six points and nine rebounds. That followed up her strong performance against Minnesota where she scored eight points and had 15 rebounds.
After committing just nine turnovers in their last game the Storm committed nearly that many in the first quarter alone on Tuesday. It was a bad start that put them behind the eight-ball from the very beginning. In total, Seattle committed 15 turnovers and Chicago was able to score 18 points off of those costly turnovers.
“I think we’ve been better a lot lately with first quarters. It’s been a focus for us. (But today) was frustrating. Obviously today, we were not locked in from the jump is what it showed. We fought back at least for a half but we couldn’t get a rhythm.” Sami Whitcomb said
Beyond the turnovers, the Storm’s offense struggled to score shooting below 40% from the field. They made just 38% (22-71 FG) and 35% (7-20 FG) from beyond the arc. Defensively, they couldn’t slow down Chicago’s scorers. They were only able to force the Sky into five total turnovers and scored just a single point off of Chicago’s mistakes.
“Our coverages. Not being locked in. No communication or execution of that. We had nine (turnovers) in the first quarter. We had nine for the entire game in the last game. That’s one of our keys. We have to take care of the basketball. If we don’t, other teams score a lot of points off of our turnovers. We don’t get proper shots on goal, period.” Coach Quinn remarked after the game.
Chicago Sky
Basketball is ultimately a team game and this was very apparent in this contest. While Jewell Loyd scored the game-high 26 points it was Chicago’s balance and bench scoring that made the difference. Dana Evans came off the bench and made an immediate impact scoring 23 points and dishing out a game-high eight assists. She also played some pesky defense.
Coach Quinn wasn’t surprised by Evans’s performance.
“If you watch Evans all year, then not really. Just knowing that there has been some inconsistency with their bench scoring but as far as the way she plays, her aggressiveness, she’s always looking to shoot. She’s always looking to be aggressive and make plays offensively. If she sees a mismatch she attacks it. We tried multiple coverages on her and it failed.” Quinn said.
In total, five Chicago players scored in double figures. Besides Evans, Marina Mabrey was the next leading scorer with 19 points. Alanna Smith had another strong game against Seattle with 14 points and seven rebounds. Kahleah Copper scored 12 points and Courtney Williams added 10 more points.
The Sky shot just under 51% (39-77 FG). Their bench outscored Seattle’s reserves 39-21 mostly thanks to Evans's offensive explosion. Chicago doubled the Storm in fast break points 18-9. They also held a 42-36 edge with points in the paint.
“We didn’t execute our defensive scout. Letting players get too comfortable with their shots. Like you said, we’ve prided ourselves defensively and that wasn’t the case tonight. We know we can do better. It’s a road trip so we know that we have less than 48 hours to bounce back.” Ezi Magbegor said.
“I think obviously the first quarter we dug ourselves in a hole. As Sami said, we tried to fight back but when they’re shooting the shots that they shot. They shot really well from the field so I think that’s hard to stop. Not being able to get stops. Not being able to capitalize on our shots. It let us down.” She added.
Game Breakdown
The Storm then gave up an offensive rebound to Alanna Smith for two points. Seattle then committed back-to-back turnovers that saw Chicago quickly run the other way for uncontested points. That sloppy play continued for Seattle throughout the first 10 minutes.
Jewell Loyd and Marina Mabrey swapped three-point baskets. Alanna Smith knocked down a pair of free throws and Kahleah Copper sank a short jumper inside the paint. Jordan Horston made a layup following her own missed shot. Seattle then briefly took the lead at 14-13 on a Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu layup.
After a couple of baskets from Smith and Dana Evans, Sami Whitcomb would tie the game at 17-17 on a made triple. The Sky would finish the first period on a 10-2 run. Evans scored four more points during that run. At the end of the first quarter, the Sky led the Storm 27-19.
Chicago went on a 9-0 run from the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the second. Dana Evans had a nice left-handed drive to the rim. Sami Whitcomb knocked down another three-ball but Marina Mabrey matched her on the other end to put the Sky up 11 at 33-22.
Jewell then scored four in a row with a pair coming from the foul line. Sika Kone hit a nice midrange jumper for Chicago. Sami grabbed an offensive rebound and got the ball to Ezi Magbegor for the AND1 layup and free throw.
The Storm were thoroughly outplayed by the Chicago Sky in this game. Seattle looked a step slow. Chicago made all the hustle plays. The Storm's defense was not able to slow down the Sky’s offense and their offense committed too many turnovers. Seattle trailed by 15 (44-29) with four minutes to go in the first half.
Loyd made a couple of nice plays. Fighting through contact for an AND1 layup. She then knocked down a three-pointer in transition. Mercedes Russell then grabbed her own offensive rebound and was able to score on the putback layup to cut the 16-point deficit down to 10. Seattle trailed 50-40 at the end of the first half.
The Sky started the second half on a 7-0 run to go up by 17 points and essentially put the game away. It was capped up by an AND1 layup and foul for Alanna Smith.
Magbegor and Mabrey exchanged baskets. Then Jewell Loyd scored on a layup and Ezi knocked down a three-pointer. That cut Chicago’s lead down to 12 at 59-47 with five and a half minutes to go in the third. Seattle would not get any closer than that the rest of the way.
Jewell and Dana Evans went back and forth against each other. Both knocked down some big shots against one another. At one point, Evans fouled Jewell and the two squared off with a mean staredown for a few seconds before being separated. Evans would knock down another three-pointer shortly thereafter. Both Loyd and Evans scored nine points each in the third.
Smith knocked down a pair of free throws and then Dana hit another three-pointer. Both teams swapped a few more baskets. The period ended with Loyd and Evans each knocking down a pair of free throws. At the end of the third, Chicago led Seattle 77-60.
The Sky continued to pour it on over the game’s final 10 minutes. They quickly pushed their lead above 20 points on an Alanna Smith three-ball just a minute into the fourth quarter. The beatdown didn’t stop there.
Over the next four minutes, the Sky extended their lead to 31 points. Seattle simply had no answer or any type of comeback in them. Chicago extended their lead with multiple three-pointers from Robyn Parks and Dana Evans. At this point, Coach Quinn waved the white flag and started pulling her top players off the court like Loyd and Magbegor.
Jade Melbourne, Joyner Holmes, and Yvonne Turner closed out the game. Holmes knocked down a three-pointer and Turner scored four points. At the end of the game, Seattle had fallen 102-79.
Additional Analysis
Jewell Loyd Sets the Franchise Record
It certainly didn’t happen in a memorable game for the Storm but it’s still a memorable moment nonetheless. Jewell Loyd set the all-time Seattle Storm record for points in a single season surpassing Breanna Stewart’s 742 points that she set back in 2018.
After her 26-point performance, Loyd now has 748 points on the season. She set the franchise record in 31 games played so there will be no asterisk symbol in the record books. From a pure scoring standpoint, no one has ever done it better than Jewell. She has surpassed Lauren Jackson and Breanna Stewart as the number-one scorer in any Storm season.
“It’s pretty cool. I did not think about nor did I know until after when everyone was saying congratulations. But yeah, it’s cool. I’m in the record books. I’m there!” Loyd said.
When asked if it meant less to set the record in an otherwise disappointing game, Jewell had this to say.
“I guess yes and no. My thing is to always come out and compete regardless of the score. Obviously, we want to win games but there is always a bright side to everything. I guess for the Seattle organization and the fans this is the bright side to tonight’s loss.” Loyd added.
Loyd is now 113 points away from surpassing Diana Taurasi’s All-Time scoring record in a single season (860 points). The Storm have seven games remaining in their season. That means Jewell needs to average a little over 16 points per game if she plays in all seven games.
“I don’t want to think about it. We’re not talking about or thinking about it all season because I don’t want to make it just about me. I want to make sure that regardless of my individual stuff that our whole team is getting better. We’re just trying to finish the season out strong!” She said.
Her coach and her teammate praised Loyd’s historic season after the game.
“It’s been incredible. She’s carried us night in and night out with everybody focusing on her defensively. Whether that’s trapping or throwing three people at her sometimes. It’s pretty remarkable what she’s able to do consistently. She’s not doing it by jacking it (shots) whenever she wants. She’s doing it within what we’re trying to do and doing it efficiently on most nights. It really is remarkable what she’s been able to do.” Whitcomb stated.
“To do it in general (set the record), it’s amazing! To score that amount of points for a historic franchise like this, it’s a testament to who she is and how she works. Whether it’s more games or time, it takes a lot of talent and hard work to do the things that Jewell is doing. She is in tremendous shape. She’s worked her mind, her spirit, and her body to be where she’s at right now. I have a lot of pride for the way she’s playing and how she’s representing herself this season.” Coach Quinn added.
Jordan Horston’s Shooting Woes
Rookie Jordan Horston is in a shooting slump. Over the past five games, she’s only had one game where she shot above 34%. Against Chicago, she had one of her worst shooting performances of the season connecting on just 1-11 FG (9%). It was extra apparent when she had three shot attempts in a single possession and missed all three shots inside the foul line.
It’s a stark contrast from the very efficient shooting she had displayed in the previous 10 games before this five-game stretch. During those 10 games, Horston shot 50% or better in eight of the 10 games which is incredible. In four of those 10 games, Jordan scored in double figures, and in six of the 10 she had scored at least eight points.
We know Horston is dealing with a reoccurring shoulder injury. It’s certainly possible that’s having a negative effect on things.
After the game, I spoke with Sami Whitcomb and Coach Noelle Quinn about Jordan’s shooting slump and asked for their thoughts on what could be done.
“I think she just needs to stay aggressive. A lot of her shots are ones that we like her to take. I think we need her to do it confidently. I think if she gets it in her head at all or starts being less confident just because she goes into a period where they’re not going in as much, I think that’s going to impact her more. I hope she keeps taking the right shots when we need her to. We are better when she’s aggressive. They’ll start dropping again. That’s the ebb and flow of a season for everyone.” Sami Whitcomb told me.
“A lot of the shots she took today, we’ll take. The ones in the paint and the ones around the rim. Just have a higher concentration level to finish those. There weren’t a lot of threes to take in my opinion. Those I’d rather have her turn those down right now and get to the mid(range), get to the rim, or get to the free throw line. That’s one thing that can help her as well. Continue to put pressure at the rim and get to the free throw line. Get a couple of easy baskets there. We are going to Indy and if you remember the last time we played in Indy, her game was pretty much everywhere; around the rim, defensively active, in transition, and finding ways to score. She can do it. It’s just a matter of hitting the easy ones and I think that’ll open up her game a little bit more.” Coach Quinn answered.
“But I will say. I like what she’s doing defensively. She’s on Copper. She’s had some tough assignments and she’s rebounding the basketball at a high level. We just need to get her to finish a little bit better.” Quinn continued.
As Coach Quinn pointed out, Jordan is making a positive impact in other areas of the game. Basketball isn’t all about scoring and while Horston is struggling right now with her shot she is adding value in a lot of other places.
Jordan had a game-high 11 rebounds on Tuesday against Chicago. She also dished out four assists which were tied with Sami Whitcomb for third-best on the team. Probably most importantly, she’s been defending the opposing team’s best perimeter player a lot and having success there. Horston was matched up primarily against Kahleah Copper in this game and limited her to 12 points. She also recently kept the number two overall pick, Diamond Miller, to single digits in both of the recent Minnesota Lynx games.
Lastly, I’m encouraged by the fact that Jordan continues to look for her shot. In the past three games, she’s taken at least nine field goal attempts. That’s a good thing. The worst thing that can happen, even worse than missing 10 out of 11 shots, is for a player to lose confidence and stop shooting altogether.
Up Next
The Storm (10-23) will travel to Indiana to face the Fever (9-24) on Thursday, August 24th at 4:00 PM. The two teams have split the season series so far with each team winning on the road.
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