Storm Rally for Win Against Wings 83-77

Seattle outscored Dallas 53 to 39 in the 2nd half.

(Seattle, WA) - It’s been an up-and-down season so far for the Seattle Storm, and on Tuesday night, we witnessed several of the reasons why. The Storm (4-4) trailed the Paige Bueckers-less Dallas Wings (1-7) for the majority of the game. Seattle’s offense looked sluggish and out of sync early on. During the post-game press conference, Nneka Ogwumike said, “I think we suffer a lot from paralysis by analysis. And we just need to play basketball.”

Despite struggling with their offense and rebounding, especially in the first half, their defense and talent won them the game in the second half. Seattle used a 16-2 run in the 3rd quarter and a 12-0 run in the 4th quarter to take control of the game. They outscored the Dallas Wings 53-39 over the final 20 minutes and won the game 83-77.

Gabby Williams led the team in scoring for the second game in a row. She finished with 18 points, four assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Nneka Ogwumike added 14 points and nine rebounds. She scored 10 of those 14 points in the 2nd half. Ezi Magbegor contributed with nine points, seven rebounds, and five blocked shots. She probably could have had even more, but she got into foul trouble and finished with five fouls.

Seattle’s bench played a major factor in the team’s win. They outscored the Wings’ reserves 30-14. Li Yueru and Zia Cooke scored all 13 of their combined points in the first half when the Storm were really struggling to score. Erica Wheeler led all reserves with 11 points, seven assists (zero turnovers), and five rebounds. Wheeler brought major energy off the bench to help Seattle close the game out. Rookie Dominique Malonga also had her moments finishing with six points on 3-4 FG shooting, three rebounds, and a block in 11 minutes off the bench.

The Storm outshot the Wings 48% (30-62 FG) to 35% (30-86 FG). Seattle was also better from the three-point line, converting 40% (8-20 FG) from beyond the arc compared to 25% (5-20 FG) for the Wings. Seattle had a slight edge in assists (22-18) and fast break points (13-6).

Dallas Wings

DiJonai Carrington had her best game in a Dallas Wings uniform. She finished with a game-high 22 points. Carrington also had a season-high eight rebounds and a team-high four assists. She hit several key shots for the Wings throughout the game.

Myisha Hines-Allen also had a strong game. She finished with the game’s only double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Maddy Siegrist, who replaced Paige Bueckers (out with a concussion) in the starting lineup, finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Arike Ogunbowale struggled in this game. She finished with eight points on 4-15 FG shooting. Coach Quinn talked about how Seattle wanted to constantly give her different looks to throw off her rhythm. It appeared to be a successful strategy.

Dallas badly out-rebounded Seattle 48-31. With an unreal 20-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. The Wings also held a 44-38 edge with points in the paint.

Game Breakdown

Arike Ogunbowale was fouled on a drive to the rim and made both free throws for the game’s first score. Gabby Williams found Ezi Magbegor in transition for the layup. Myisha Hines-Allen sank a three-pointer. The Storm started off 1-7 FG, which allowed Dallas to get up 7-2 early.

Seattle was able to cut the deficit to one after baskets from Ogwumike and Williams. NaLyssa Smith was fouled on a tip putback and made both free throws. The Wings would go on an 8-3 run to push their lead back to six at 17-11.

Li Yueru hit two three-pointers in the first period that helped cut into Dallas’ lead. Zia Cooke came in late in the first and knocked down a corner three. Luisa Geiselsöder countered with a three-ball on the other end. Gabby got to the rim one more time for the easy basket. At the end of the first period, the Wings led 20-19.

Ezi Magbegor had some strong defensive moments early. She had registered five blocks by the early parts of the second quarter. Cooke split a pair of free throws and then hit another three-pointer. Seattle got a layup from Dominique Malonga on a beautiful slip to the rim. Seattle briefly took a five-point lead, but Dallas responded with baskets from DiJonai Carrington and Hines-Allen.

Carrington made a three-pointer. Maddy Siegrist tried to do a reverse layup, but Dominique Malonga was there to block the shot. Seattle got out in transition, Gabby found Clark open for three to tie the game at 30-30.

The Wings would end the first half on an 8-0 run. Siegrist split a pair of free throws. They got two baskets from Carrington, and Geiselöder drilled a three at the buzzer. Nneka and Skylar combined for 2-10 FG shooting and just four points total in the first half.

Myisha Hines-Allen scored off the pick-and-roll to begin the 2nd half. Gabby and Skylar scored to cut the deficit down to six. NaLyssa Smith got to the rim for two. Maddy Siegrist snagged a loose ball and scored in the paint. Maddy then had a mouse in the house with Zia Cooke guarding her. Cooke tried to front her to deflect the incoming pass. It was above her head, and Siegrist scored an uncontested layup at the rim to put the Wings up 11 at 47-36.

The Storm battled back with a 16-2 run. Nneka hit a corner three. Erica Wheeler got to the rim for a layup through traffic. Then Ezi hit back-to-back baskets in the paint. They went back to Magbegor again, and she was able to draw a foul. She split the pair. Erica Wheeler scored in the lane and was fouled. Nneka was fouled and made both free throws.

DiJonai Carrington ended the run with a corner three. She then got a big steal and an AND1. Dallas led 55-54 at the end of the third.

Dom Malonga scored on a nice mid-range jumper. The Wings responded with six straight points. They got baskets from Carrington and Aziaha James. Plus a pair of free throws from Kaila Charles. Seattle answered with a 12-0 run from Diggins, Wheeler, and a three-ball from Williams. And three more from Wheeler.

NaLyssas Smith ended Seattle’s run at the foul line. Gabby scored with a pull-up jumper in the paint. Seattle forced a jump ball that resulted in Skylar getting a fast break opportunity. Carrington chased her down and tried to block the shot, but hit Diggins in the head instead. The foul was upgraded to a Flagrant-1. Diggins made the shot during the foul and then made both free throws. Magbegor then scored down low on a nice feed from Wheeler. That capped off a six-point possession and put the Storm ahead 74-63.

Hines-Allen and Siegrist scored to cut the Storm’s lead down to seven. Ogwumike responded with a three-ball. Dallas never gave up. They got additional baskets from Carrington and Hines-Allen to cut the lead down to five at 78-73 with less than 30 seconds to play.

Despite Dallas scoring 10 points in the final 90 seconds of the game, they ran out of time. The Wings were forced to play the foul game, sending Gabby Williams to the foul line multiple times, and then Skylar for two more. Seattle made five of six free throws. Carrington had one last shot from beyond the arc but missed. At the final buzzer, the Storm had won 83-77.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (4-4) have a few days off before they travel to Phoenix to play the Mercury (5-3) on Saturday, June 7th at 7:00 PM. Seattle is currently 1-1 in the Commissioner’s Cup and likely will need to go undefeated the rest of the way if they want to represent the Western Conference in the Commissioner's Cup Championship game.

Part 2

Part 2 will include additional thoughts, quotes, and discussion from Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Wings. It’ll be sent exclusively to paid subscribers tomorrow morning.

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