There’s no place like home for the Storm

The Storm’s starting lineup after forcing the Connecticut Sun to call a timeout on June 23 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA. (Photo by Kevin Ng)

By Christan Braswell

Seattle, WA - There’s nothing like the comfort of your own space at home.

Playing seven of nine games on the road from May 29 to June 19, the Storm are thriving while on a WNBA-record nine-game homestand. They can’t do any wrong playing in front of their fans at Climate Pledge Arena, having won eight straight games in their building. For head coach Noelle Quinn, they must maintain their intensity. 

“Being at home helps,” she said. “You talk about the comfort in that, but also the efficiency in getting treatment, sleeping in your own bed, home-cooked meals, and all the great things that come with being at home. But our team is very aware of what this stretch is before the [Olympic] break.”

It’s safe to say that Quinn’s message was heard as the Storm are 4-0 since the homestand started with victories over the Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, and most recently a pair of utter shellackings on the Dallas Wings (4-15).

The Sun are one of few teams in the league that force opponents to scrap a normal game plan against them in order to win. Their penchant for a rugged, yet highly skilled approach to basketball is well-known. 

After a 14-8 first quarter where Seattle trailed, they outscored the Sun 67-to-47 the rest of the way. Playing the passing lanes gave the Storm a 12-6 advantage in transition and matching Connecticut’s physicality from the first whistle until the last without fouling often sealed the deal. 

Entering their matchup with Seattle on June 27, the Fever won four of their last five games while averaging 90 points, good for third in the WNBA during the stretch. Clicking on all cylinders and looking great doing so, this wasn’t the Indiana team that lost the previous two meetings. 

None of it mattered as Storm star Jewell Loyd dropped a game-high 34 points – three shy her career-high – in the 89-77 win. All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike collected her fourth double-double of the season and 105th of her storied career, the fifth-most in WNBA history.

Outside of Ogwumike’s 11 rebounds, no other Storm player had more than five. The Fever won the battle on the glass, boasting a 44-27 advantage. For the first time this season, the Storm were outrebounded by double digits. 

Where the game was won in their favor was the alteration to defending rookie phenom Caitlin Clark. After scoring 12 points in the first half, the Storm held her to three points via the foul line in the second half. 

One thing that always sticks out throughout this stretch of games is Seattle’s “will do” mindset as head coach Quinn calls it. It’s a buy-in in all facets of the game, but most importantly on defense. If something doesn’t work in the opening twenty minutes of play, this team will toss it in the bin at the half and recreate their approach to a task. This ability and endless versatility have proven to be the backbone of their identity as the season grows and teams learn more about themselves. 

The Wings were on an 11-game losing streak before snapping it against the Commissioner’s Cup champion Minnesota Lynx. Unfortunately for Dallas, the victory was short-lived once landing in the PNW.

In the first of their two games, Loyd continued her tear, netting 30 points as all five Storm starters notched double-digits in a display of dominance on both ends of the court. Wing Jordan Horston finished with a double-double at 12 points and 11 rebounds. Of the eight players to see the court, they all shot at least 42 percent from the field.

The 95-71 win Monday night followed the same script. In rare fashion, all eleven players were deployed. Eight of them shot 40 percent or better from the field.

Scoring points is the name of the game, but the efficiency in which this group is doing so is unlike anything witnessed this season. 

“It’s huge, especially knowing a lot of that can come in transition,” Quinn said. “A lot of it is playing with pace, flow, and getting our paint points at a high level. If we can play simple, beautiful basketball, that definitely helps with what we can do on the defensive end.”

After heading to the locker room at halftime with an eight-point lead, Seattle outscored Dallas 34-to-13 in the third frame where three players had at least six points. They shot 52 percent as a team and connected on four of their eight attempts from deep. 

Quinn rested her starters for nearly the entire fourth quarter as Horston was the lone player with under three minutes. There haven’t been many instances where this was possible this season. 

“I think it’s important for games like this for our group that gets a lot of minutes to rest a little bit,” she said.

The Storm have another two-game set on the way, this time against the young, upstart Chicago Sky (6-11) starting on Friday, July 5.

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