Storm begin a new era with blowout loss to Aces in season opener
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – To begin a new era in the Seattle Storm’s franchise history without Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart, the four-time WNBA Champions were blasted at home by the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. The 41-point loss was the worst in franchise history, as Seattle is searching for new faces to step into the spotlight and takeover alongside shooting guard Jewell Loyd. While the Storm came out in the first quarter and matched the energy and effort of the Aces, Las Vegas’ starting five imposed their will in the paint when the second quarter began and never looked back. Six Aces were in double digits, including all starters, while the Storm only had Jewell Loyd in double figures and on a poor shooting percentage.
Tipoff between the Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm to open up the 2023 season between the two teams (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)
Pushing back in the first quarter
This game started out hot for Seattle and the Storm, as veteran point guard Yvonne Turner and a returning Mercedes Russell came out with energy and unafraid of the super team that is the Aces. Seattle was able to stay toe-to-toe with Las Vegas through the first quarter, with high energy and effort. Although rebounding was a primary issue for the Storm last season, Seattle was able to clog the lane defensively and hold Candace Parker and A’ja Wilson to limited impact through those first fifteen minutes. It appeared that this Storm team may be able to hang with Las Vegas in this season opener, as they remained active defensively and were using high energy to stay in the face of their opponent. All of this was taking place despite star shooting guard Jewell Loyd going cold, missing all five of her attempts through the first quarter. Things took a turn in the next period, though, as Las Vegas got settled in.
“A positive is that we have so much to work on, that’s not us obviously. I think we can get back to the drawing board and work on our strengths as a team. That’s my takeaway.”
After a tight first quarter, it was all Aces for Las Vegas in this game (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Paint problems
With Mercedes Russell returning to the lineup following last season that saw her deal with a non-basketball related injury all year long, it appeared that Seattle was going to get some quality help with their paint presence. Through that first quarter, it appeared that was going to be true as Russell at center and Ezi Magbegor at power forward seemed to be a strong combination that was battling against the talented Aces front court. Las Vegas adjusted, and tortured Seattle in the paint for the rest of the night after those 15 fifteen minutes. The Aces were getting whatever they wanted in the paint, and when the Storm tried to help inside, Las Vegas was able to knock shots down from the perimeter. Things were falling apart for Seattle, and fast.
After only trailing by four points through the first quarter, this contest went into the halftime locker room with a difference of 15. Las Vegas had only attempted one shot outside of the paint in the second quarter, and they had still dropped 25 points in that second frame. Seattle had attempted to replicate that sort of effort, but struggled inside and couldn’t get past the Aces bigs. With Jewell Loyd finding a small groove, hitting three jump shots outside of the paint, there was some hope that she was going to heat up and get the Storm offense into this game, but there was even a problem with that. In the past few years, when Breanna Stewart and or Sue Bird have been out of the game for whatever reason, it’s far too often just been the Jewell Loyd show with no help. That was the case for most of this game, and very well be what we see for the majority of this 2023 season for the Seattle Storm.
“Obviously nobody wants to lose, and nobody wants to lose this bad, we understand that. As professional athletes, you gotta come up with some pride and integrity. We’ve got a lot of new people in there that are kinda shocked. For us that was a good test, to play the defending champions, we’ve gotta see what it’s like to get to that level. I think it’s a good eye opener for us. We’ve just got to stay encouraged, watch film, and get better. ”
Seattle Storm veterans Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor had solid performances, but overall it was enough to hang wiht the defending champion Aces (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Finding bright spots in the blowout
While it’s obvious looking at the box score that the Aces ran away with this game, scoring 31 points in both the third and fourth quarters, there were some bright spots to look at in this tough and ugly loss to open the year. That may be the way that Storm fans and the team itself will have to look at the season as the year progresses, with many slating them to be a lottery team before the year even began. While this is only the first game of the season and there is still the time and opportunity for major change to occur, it’s somewhat unlikely considering the youth and unproven players on this team. The two bright spots that I’d like to focus on in that regard, would be rookie Jordan Horston and veteran European point guard Ivana Dojkic, who is playing her first year in the WNBA.
Jordan Horston, the ninth overall selection in this past WNBA Draft and somebody who was viewed as a major steal for the Storm at that selection, didn’t have the greatest game in the season opener. The Lady Vol went 4-13 from the field and had a plus/minus of –28, but considering that this game was against this loaded team that is coming off winning the WNBA Championship and somehow got better, you can cut some slack for Horston in her first game. The positives that I want to focus on are Horston filling up different areas of the stat sheet, including rebounds (five), assists (three), and steals (3). Considering her participation in the Seattle regional of last year's Women’s March Madness, we’re well aware of what Horston is capable of and what she can do when she gets comfortable. So, despite the struggles in this game, I’m not ready to overreact on Horston.
“Jordan’s great, I talked to her yesterday and she said ‘I just don’t wanna let anyone down.’ I told her, Jordan, it’s basketball. It’s not life or death here, go out and be yourself, and she’s learning. It’s a big shift, she just graduated, and she’s learning a lot. Once it clicks, she’s a problem, she’s super long and lengthy, she’s gonna want to trust herself a little bit more... She’s young, athletic, and she wants to get better, she wants to compete, she has energy and fire. The next part is letting the game come to her.”
Seattle Storm rookie guard Jordan Horston tallied seven points in the game and filled parts of the stat sheet, but did have some learning moments (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Ivana Dojkic was an interesting case coming into this game, and still remains an interesting case after coming into camp a little late due to her responsibilities overseas with her European team. Considering the search for a point guard, it was going to be interesting to note what sort of impact Dojkic was going to make early on, especially with a WNBA veteran like Yvonne Turner coming in and 2022 draft pick Jade Melbourne ready to join the team this year. Dojkic was able to provide instant impact off the bench, bringing hustle defensively and getting quick baskets for the Storm in her attempt to stop the bleeding that was the Aces attack. Although her numbers didn’t “jump” off the page, it was clear that Dojkic brought an instant boost to the team.
“Obviously she came in late into training camp, but I think from day one she’s done a good job of picking up the plays, learning how to play with all of us, and that was evident tonight. I thought she did a good job coming off the bench, getting in lanes, pushing the ball. We love having Ivy on our team and I think that’s going to continue throughout the season. ”
Seattle Storm point guard Ivana Dojkic provided some instant impact off the bench (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Quick notes
This was Seattle’s first Commissioner’s Cup game of the season, as the Storm go 0-1 in the tournament to start the year.
The Aces shot 40-of-73 from the field including 11-of-18 from the three-point line led by Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young with three apiece.
Las Vegas became the first team to top 100 against Seattle since Sept. 5, 2019 (at LAS, 102-68).
Loyd, who set a team-high 22 points, was scoreless in the first quarter, but fired up for 10 straight points during a 3:59 stretch of the second that included the Storm’s sole three-pointer of the first half. Loyd’s performance includes four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal.
The Storm bench contributed with 25 points led by eight from rookie Jordan Horston, who added five rebounds, three assists and three steals in her WNBA debut.
Ezi Magbegor and Ivana Dojkić combined for 14 points with seven each. Magbegor also tallied five rebounds and four steals.
In her first WNBA game after recovering from injury, Mercedes Russell scored six points and got nine rebounds.
Today was the 40th straight game in which the Storm made at least five shots from downtown. That’s the longest streak in team history, the third-longest in league history, and the current longest in the league.
Jade Melbourne comes into the game for the Storm. At 20 years, 275 days, she is the youngest player currently on a WNBA roster. She is also the 2nd youngest player to make her debut with Seattle behind fellow Aussie Lauren Jackson (20y, 20d).
Bel Garcia and Charles Hamaker from Circling Seattle Sports provide their immediate reaction to the loss
What’s next?
Following the biggest loss in Storm franchise history, Seattle looks to get back to the film and hit the practice court ahead of their next battle, Friday May 26th with a tipoff time of 7PM PST against the Dallas Wings. The Wings are coming off a seven-point season opening victory against the young Atlanta Dream team, as three of the Dallas starters scored at least 20 points including Arike Ogunbowale’s 27. It’ll be another tough test for Seattle early into this season, as the Wings and Storm have had brutal battles down to the wire in the past few years.