Storm win epic playoff clash 86-83 over the Mystics

Jewell Loyd's 4th quarter heroics help Seattle secure Game 1.

(Seattle, WA) - This game demonstrated what playoff basketball is all about! It should come as no surprise that the most highly anticipated first-round playoff matchup lived up to the hype and then some! The Seattle Storm and the Washington Mystics finished the season with the same overall record (22-14) and in a lot of ways, the two teams mirror each other. They are both led by dynamic forwards that can dominate anywhere on the court in Elena Delle Donne and Breanna Stewart. Both teams feature All-Star shooting guards Jewell Loyd and Ariel Atkins. Seattle has the WNBA’s All-Time Assists leader while Washington features this season’s top assists distributor in Natasha Cloud. They both feature excellent perimeter defenders in Alysha Clark and Gabby Williams. And they both have very young and talented post players in Shakira Austin and Ezi Magbegor.

There were 15 lead changes and 11 ties throughout the game in what was a constant back-and-forth affair. Ultimately, it was the Storm who were able to get defensive stops in the final two minutes and hit some clutch shots and free throws to pull out the 86-83 victory over the Mystics to take Game 1 of the series.

“I thought that was an amazing game for basketball fans in general. I thought it was really gritty and gutsy on our part. When Mystics made their runs we weathered some storms. We had some amazing contributions from a lot of people. Ezi coming in and playing great minutes. Stewie with a big rebound. Jewell bouncing back and willing some shots in. This is what playoff basketball is about. It’s good to get this win but the job isn’t done. We’ll be focused and ready to go on Sunday.” Coach Quinn said in her opening statement.

The AP Player of the year, Breanna Stewart, led the Storm in scoring with 23 points and had a game-high 12 rebounds. Including a crucial one after Elena Delle Donne’s final shot of the game missed its mark. Stewart was one of four Seattle players to reach double figures in scoring. Jewell Loyd added 16 points with 12 of her points coming late in the fourth quarter when the team needed her the most. Gabby Williams stepped up with a strong overall game, contributing with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Her energy, especially early, gave Seattle a nice boost. Sue Bird scored all 10 of her points in the first half.

I spoke with Stewart after the game about the challenges of competing against Elena Delle Donne and the battle the two of them had.

“Elena is really tough to guard. We talked about it after the game. She hit some really tough shots. And that’s the goal. We’re trying to make things difficult, we’re trying to make her be more of a facilitator. But she rose to the occasion and we know we see her again on Sunday, and we just need to be prepared. It’s the playoffs, I think anything that happens in the regular season, she was in and out of games. Everyone is stepping up to be the best in these moments because we know nothing is given to us. The opportunity we have right now is not the opportunity we’ll have tomorrow. (We have to) make sure we take advantage of those 40 minutes on the court.” Stewie told me.

Tina Charles was the only starter not to score in double figures but she did have nine points and seven rebounds. Ezi Magbegor also provided a lift off the bench leading all reserves in scoring with eight points.

Both teams shot the ball well with Seattle connecting on roughly 51% (32-63 FG) of their shots. More importantly, Seattle was excellent from beyond the arc, making 50% (10-20) of their deep shots. The Storm out-rebounded the Mystics 31-27 which made Coach Quinn happy. Seattle had a 21-16 edge in assists and a 9-6 advantage in fast break points. Their reserves also outscored the Mystics’ bench 16-11.

The Washington Mystics

Washington was led by former two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne. EDD led all players in scoring with 26 points. She also added a team-high five assists creating shots for her teammates. She scored 18 of her 26 points in the 2nd half and Coach Mike Thibault talked about getting her going.

“We tried to position her in the 2nd half where she could get the ball without being double-teamed. Whether that was on the elbow, the perimeter, or in the post. What we did a better job of is, she would kick it out and we would go right back to her as they were leaving from the original double-team. She also put herself in a position where she was facing up where she could see where the help was coming from. I thought she did a good job of finding people. She had five assists and probably could have had seven or eight, we missed some opportunities when she passed out of those double teams.” he stated.

I got to speak with Delle Donne about her performance and her perspective on the matchup against Stewie.

“She’s a great player. She poses a lot of challenges defensively because she moves all the time. It’s certainly a challenge for me and one that I’m excited about. I feel like in this body I’ve worked on for so long that I play so much better defense now. Before I don’t think I had this matchup. I’m proud of myself to be in this position. I mean, she’s a phenomenal player, you just have to try to make every shot as tough as you can.” EDD told me.

Natasha Cloud and Ariel Atkins each scored 16 points for the Mystics but the Storm kept them in relative check after halftime. Atkins scored just three points in the second half and Cloud had five over the final 20 minutes.

Shakira Austin, playing in her first-ever playoff game, was easily one of the Mystics’ best players. She had 12 points and seven rebounds in the game and was very active on both ends of the court.

“Shakira has been great for us all year. She’s been our X-Factor in a lot of different ways. The crazy part is she hasn’t even scratched the service of her potential yet. To come in and have a solid game like she had, we are very proud of her. But there is more that we can all do. There is more that Shakira can do and show. That’s the exciting part going into the next game. I think to come in and get her playoff jitters for her rookie season, we’re playing in a really tough arena, for her to show off the way she did tonight we’re proud of her.” Cloud added.

The Mystics entered this game as the WNBA’s best defensive team so it wasn’t a shock that they were able to out-duel Seattle when it came to steals (8-7) and blocked shots (7-4). They forced Seattle into 14 turnovers and scored 16 points off of those mistakes. Washington also held a 36-32 edge with points in the paint.

When asked if they felt they let this game and opportunity slip away, Delle Donne had this to say.

“We talked about it once we knew this series was happening. These two teams are so evenly matched that if you look at the numbers it’s probably something you’ve never seen in history. We spoke that whoever’s going to do the little things is going to win the series. The little things become big things. Down the stretch, we had some key rebounds that we missed. There were times we didn’t get the ball where it needed to be or we were careless with the ball at times. They are a great team. They’re playing in an awesome arena. You kind of have to pause for a little bit like ‘This is fun. This is great. I love it here.’ - the biggest thing, yes it hurts. We’re all feeling it. There are so many things we all could have done but it’s a quick turnaround and we have to figure out what we need to do, regroup, and come back and give it another shot on Sunday.” Delle Donne answered.

Natasha Cloud followed that up with her own thoughts.

“If I was a younger player I’d be hanging my head a lot more but the reality is that (my) one turnover didn’t decide the game. We made mistakes before that. But I do need to take care of the ball, that’s my job to put us in successful situations. It’s a tough one, but we have a quick turnaround. That’s the beauty of it, we get to play another game. We’ll feel this, shower, wash it off, and then leave it here at the gym. We’re going to come back, we’re going to do it the hard way, and we’re going to take it back to D.C. Guaranteed. Facts. Period. Let’s do it!” Cloud stated with confidence.

Game Breakdown

Elena Delle Donne was able to score in the post past Tina Charles to score the game’s first points. Shakira Austin then got multiple offensive rebounds and then found herself wide-open under the rim. Another stop by Washington and Ariel Atkins hit a corner three to put the Mystics up 7-0 to begin the game. The Mystics couldn’t have asked for a better start.

Seattle finally got the ball into Breanna Stewart who was able to drive past Delle Donne and reverse the layup up and in. The Storm got a steal and then Sue raced down the court for the layup.

Tina Charles then hit a three to tie the game up at 9-9. Washington found Ariel Atkins wide open for three again and she buried it. Gabby was able to score then get another steal and score again. Austin was able to get to the rim again for two more. Then Sue Bird hit another three to put the Storm up 16-14.

Williams's defense then forced the Mystics into a 24-second shot clock violation but the Storm weren’t able to capitalize on back-to-back possessions. Myisha Hines-Allen had a nice dribble-drive move and lofted it up over Stewie’s out-stretched arms.

Both teams were stuck at 16-16 for multiple possessions and Jewell Loyd finally broke the drought by driving to the rim and getting fouled by Alysha Clark. Loyd sank both free throws. Rui Machida hit a mid-range jumper to end the first quarter and tie the game at 18-18.

The Storm’s bench made an instant impact to begin the 2nd quarter. First Briann January was able to drive past Alysha Clark for a layup. Then Stephanie Talbot drained a three to give the Storm their largest lead of the game to this point at 23-18.

Delle Donne scored the first points of the 2nd period for the Mystics after drawing a foul on Ezi Magbegor.

Tina Charles scored back-to-back baskets put the Storm up eight points and forced Washington Mystics coach Mike Thibault to call a timeout.

After the timeout, Natasha Cloud got the ball from out of bounds and raced down the court, and scored without any Seattle defender picking her up. Atkins was then able to draw a foul against Talbot to cut the Storm’s lead back down to four. Charles and Cloud then exchanged baskets at each end. Washington then got Seattle in a defensive mismatch that resulted in Austin easily scoring in the low post over Gabby Williams. This capped off an 8-2 run by the Mystics and forced Coach Noelle Quinn into a timeout.

Ariel Atkins hit another three-pointer to give the Mystics the lead. It only lasted a few seconds as Bird hit another three for the Storm to put them back up two. Williams then ran pick and roll with Stewie which resulted in an easy layup for Stewart. Stewart scored again driving past Delle Donne. Cloud responded with a curl off a screen that left her wide open down the lane. She then drove against Bird and sank a pair of free throws to cut the Storm’s lead back down to two at 37-35.

Cloud then hit a three to put the Mystics back on top by one. Washington forced the Storm into three consecutive turnovers and made Seattle pay. Delle Donne scored four straight points. Washington finished the first half on an 11-3 run to take a 42-40 lead into the locker rooms.

It was the exceptional guard play from the Mystics’ backcourt who did most of the damage through the first two periods. Ariel Atkins was red-hot scoring 13 points to lead all scorers and Natasha Cloud was right behind her with 11 points. Elena Delle Donne chipped in with eight points.

The Storm were led by Sue Bird who scored 10 points. Tina Charles and Breanna Stewart each added nine points apiece. Jewell Loyd was held to just two points in the first half.

Both teams shot the ball well in the first half. The Storm shot 50% (16-32 FG) overall and 44% (4-9 FG) from beyond the arc. The Mystics were slightly better overall connecting on 53% (16-30 FG) and a solid 40% (4-10 FG) from the three-point line. The teams were even on the glass with 14 each. Seattle had a 12-7 edge in assists.

Shakira Austin with multiple hustle plays to begin the third quarter to give her team a lift. She scored four points and also had an offensive rebound. With the Storm trailing by six points, Gabby and Stewie hit consecutive triples to tie the game at 46-46.

Williams and Alysha Clark exchanged baskets. Stewie then hit a three but the Mystics responded with a quick 7-0 run. Natasha Cloud drove past her defenders for another layup and then buried a three in transition. Austin then got into the paint against Ezi and scored over her.

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough knocked down a triple to put the Mystics up five at 58-53. The Storm responded back with their own 7-0 run to regain the lead by two.

Stewart and Delle Donne started going back and forth leading their respective teams to points. They ended up scoring the final 11 points of the quarter between the two of them. EDD converted an AND1 with one second remaining to put the Mystics back up one 65-64 to end the third period.

EDD scored again to begin the 4th quarter. Then Ezi Magbegor was able to score back-to-back baskets in the paint. The Mystics then got a four-point possession as Ezi was whistled for a foul before Washington inbounded the ball. This allowed Delle Donne to shoot one free throw while retaining possession. On the next possession, Seattle initially got the stop but was unable to box out for the rebound. The Mystics’ offensive rebound resulted in another three-point from Atkins. EDD scored again on the next possession to put the Mystics back up five points at 75-70 forcing Coach Noelle Quinn to call a timeout.

Jewell Loyd checked back into the game and hit her first shot of the game at the 4:52 mark of the 4th quarter; a critical three-pointer to cut the Mystics’ lead down to two at 77-75. After Delle Donne made another basket, Loyd was able to hit another three-ball to cut the lead down to one. Loyd then hit two more shots to put the Storm back on top 82-81 with under 40 seconds to play.

As Washington went to set up their offense they got the ball into Delle Donne. She passed it back out of the post to the top of the perimeter to Cloud. Cloud then went to swing the ball to Atkins but she passed it behind Atkins as Ariel was looking to move forward. The ball went out of bounds and the entire crowd erupted with cheers at the costly turnover by D.C.

Seattle was able to get the ball inbounds to Jewell Loyd who calmly sank both free throws to put the Storm up three with 24 seconds remaining. The Mystics still had a chance to tie but Gabby Williams was able to get a hand in Delle Donne’s face forcing her to take a difficult three-point shot that rolled hard off the rim. Stewart leaped into the air to secure the rebound. She was immediately fouled and made her two free throws to put the Storm up five with 15 seconds left in the game.

Myisha Hines-Allen was able to draw a foul on the other end and made both of her free throws to cut the Storm’s lead back down to three. But with six seconds remaining, Seattle was able to play keep away with the basketball and Washington was not able to foul again to extend the game. Instead, Seattle made a couple of good strong passes to avoid contact and Gabby Williams was able to dribble out the clock with the Storm’s victory in hand.

Quinn touched on the help the team got from the home crowd after the game.

“The crowd was amazing. It really gave us the extra push. But also being in these environments late in the season have helped us stay poised and execute and utilize the crowd in a positive way,” she said.

I spoke with Jewell about the final two minutes as Seattle was able to execute during the critical closing moments.

“Every timeout, when we had our little huddle (the message was) ‘get stops, get stops, rebound, get stops.’ We were able to do that. Because we were able to get stops we were able to set up our offense and execute down the stretch. That’s playoff basketball being able to execute on both ends of the floor in crunch time. We definitely fed off the crowd, we fed off of each other. We just kept saying ‘Get Stops! Get Stops! Get Stops!’” Loyd emphasized.

Additional Analysis

The Present and the Future

Not only was this an incredible performance by both teams on Thursday night but it was such a joy to watch these players put on a show. There were two pairs that stood out to me throughout the game at different moments.

Once again, we were treated to a tremendous matchup between Elena Delle Donne and Breanna Stewart. It truly is fantastic to see EDD back and healthy enough to do what she did out there after battling severe back injuries over the past two seasons. The Mystics were extra cautious with her this season often having her skip road games in order to make sure she’d be able to participate in the playoffs and not wear down before then. Even if it came in defeat, her 26-point performance clearly showed that she is more than capable of putting the team on her back and having an MVP-type performance.

Of course, Stewart, another former MVP, is right in the prime of her career. She’s also had to battle back from two Achilles tendon surgeries on each foot over the past three years as well. And she put up big numbers as the only player to have a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

“Two of the top players in the game at the top of their game. Delle Donne hit some tough possessions. You try to keep her off of her strong hand, her left hand, and she still gets to her sweet spots. Again, I think Stewie willed her way through this game. She wasn’t getting a lot of calls in the first half. Huge shots, gutsy shots, big three in the corner, big rebounds on the defensive end. If I was a fan and watching it, I’d enjoy it, as a coach my armpits were sweating.” Coach Quinn said that got a laugh from the media.

But it wasn’t just the two former MVPs that were impressive. I thought their younger post counterparts also really shined in the bright lights. 22-year-old Shakira Austin did not look like a rookie at all during this playoff game. She made a major impact on both ends of the court.

And Ezi Magbegor, who just turned 23 this week, stepped up big in the 2nd half scoring all eight of her points over the final two quarters. She had some great cuts and impressive finishes at the rim. Ezi also had two emphatic blocks on the defensive end.

“Shakira Austin, when you get to this point of the season, you’re not a rookie anymore. She came in and made some hustle plays, and got some big rebounds which we’ll try to clean up. She understands her spots. If you can figure that out early in your career in the WNBA it’s definitely going to help you a lot. And then Ezi came in and was all over the place. Things that don’t always show up in the box score. She was continuing to cut, move, rebound, and play defense. That’s what we need from her and that’s what we’ve seen from her this season and she just continues to grow every game.” Stewart told me.

Austin, just in her first season in the WNBA is already showing All-Star potential. Magbegor, who really started to tap into her potential this season (her third) is blossoming into a star in Seattle. The two of them will play a large role in the WNBA’s future for years to come!

Jewell Loyd Clutch Performer

It is a huge credit to Jewell Loyd, who has struggled at times this season and was struggling throughout the vast majority of this game, that she was able to come alive late in the 4th quarter to completely turn the Storm’s fortunes around. Her 12 points in the final five minutes are the reason the team is now one win away from the WNBA Semi-Finals.

The Gold Mamba has been Seattle’s best clutch player for several seasons now. She’s been the one to hit game-winners more often than any other player on the team. Loyd is not always as consistent as Stewie when it comes to production. But she has been the Storm’s best player in these critical moments with the game on the line. Maybe it’s that “Mamba Mentality” or just a result of all the hard work she puts in. But Loyd has come up huge and she did again on Thursday night.

“In the first half, she didn’t hit a bucket but I’m very proud of her because it shows a lot of growth. Being here with her as her teammate, in playoff situations, she’s been in these where she hasn’t pushed through and she pushed through today in a major way. It wasn’t how she started but how she finished. Those were big buckets down the stretch. We had a very good defensive presence, deflections, and steals in key stretches. We grew up in a big way today. I feel the experience this team has had in the last few weeks has helped that.” Quinn stated after the game.

I got to speak with Washington’s Coach Mike Thibault after the game as well about his team’s defensive job limiting Jewell Loyd until very late in the game.

“She went from four to 16 in a hurry! She got to the free throw line. I think when you’re struggling, getting to the free throw line helps you out and it gave her a chance to see the ball go through the net too.” Coach T added.

“You’re going to give up something. I don’t think there’s an easy thing where we can say we held her down, do we need to do something different? She capitalized a little bit on a couple of mistakes we made on help. We got caught, just as they did, on some switches which neither team is comfortable with. But you don’t want to give people wide-open looks either. We gave her and some others some looks at threes we probably don’t want to give and yet they shot less threes than they normally do. That’s a little more playoff basketball, where both teams are grinding it out. Both teams are so good defensively that they made each other work. We say that and yet both teams shot better than they normally do because the best players stepped up for both teams.” Thibault continued.

The media spoke with Loyd after the game about coming through in those clutch moments and the dynamic between her and Stewie where they can feed off each other.

“We’ve been playing together and we’ve known each other a long time. To me, it’s an honor to be on the floor with her. To know that if she has the ball late game, I have all the confidence in the world in her and vice versa. We told each other, to be ready to step up and we were able to do that. She gives me confidence to take shots and I instill confidence in her. I appreciate our friendship and us being teammates, it’s a privilege.” Loyd answered.

Jersey Count

Seattle chose to wear their “Rebel” black uniforms for their first Playoff game. It made sense as it’s the uniform combination they had the most success with during the regular season. The team improved to 8-3 overall this year while wearing their black jerseys and is now 1-0 in the playoffs.

Records per jersey type this season:
Rebel: 7-3 | 1-0 (playoffs)
Explorer: 5-4
Heroine: 10-7
Overall Record: 22-14 + 1-0 playoffs = 23-14

Up Next

For the Washington Mystics, it’s win or go home! Their season is on the line as the Seattle Storm look to close out this first-round playoff series on Sunday, August 21st at 1:00 PM. The game will air nationally on ESPN. Washington’s point guard, Natasha Cloud, guaranteed they would bring the series back to D.C. for a Game 3 during the post-game press conference. We’ll find out if that holds true.

Notes:
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Photo Credits to Neil Enns/Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography Team
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