Storm can’t spoil Breanna Stewart’s return to Seattle, fall to Liberty
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In the worst start to a season in their franchise history, the Seattle Storm lost their third straight game, as they fell to the New York Liberty by a score of 86-78. Seattle battled hard throughout the entire game, against one of the two super teams in the WNBA, but a big third quarter by New York ultimately dug the Storm a hole they couldn’t fully climb out of. Seattle switched heavily, leaving them in some disadvantageous mismatches that New York was able to exploit in the third, including Breanna Stewart. Stewie poured in ten in the third frame to help the Liberty pull away and deal her former team the loss in front of 8,340 fans inside Climate Pledge Arena.
“I thought from our group, it was a good effort. We were locked in on our schemes, we pushed some pace, got some good looks. For the majority of the game, I was super proud of our fight and how hard we played.”
Pregame sights and scenes from the Seattle Storm loss to the New York Liberty loss at Climate Pledge Arena (Photos by Liz Wolter)
First half fight
Just as they have in the previous two games to open the season, the Storm battled early on to give themselves a good start against the Liberty. Seattle’s Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor lead the charge early and helped keep the Storm in the fight as the Liberty got into their offense. With numerous weapons that could attack the interior, the Liberty were getting inside early and often as they made sure to switch heavily to get Seattle’s smaller players in mismatches. While Loyd and Magbegor led the push, the rest of the Storm lineup pitched in to hang with a New York roster that very well could find themselves in the Finals. Attacking the point and surviving the switches through help defense, the Storm went into halftime only training by seven points. It seemed impossible considering the rosters on paper, but the Liberty weren’t dominating and had to fight for every inch.
“I think anyone can see that. We’ve gotten better every game and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to build, not just for this month, but for the year. We understand it’s gonna be some learning curves and regression, so figuring out rotations, defensive assignments... We’re getting better.”
Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd and Center Ezi Magbegor in the first half of the teams loss to the New York Liberty (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Liberty leave the Storm behind
Following the tight first half, things were different coming out of the halftime break. While the Storm did get within three points of the Liberty within the first two minutes and were still hanging around until late, the end of the quarter is where separation began to show. Breanna Stewart closed out that quarter strong in the final four minutes, as he racked up three points and five rebounds as she put her fingerprints all over the game. With Stewart getting activated, the Liberty were able to open their attack a bit more as they got inside while being able to pop out to the perimeter where their shooters could take over. The Storm didn’t go away quietly into the night, but they couldn’t close the gap either as New York’s variety of talented players stepped in as Seattle battled for every inch.
“I think coming out of halftime, we knew we had to just be aggressive, the first five minutes of the quarter. That was an emphasis that we had. Going forward, we just have to figure out how to stop teams’ runs. They obviously got that, and I think we just have to do a better job of stopping them in the moment.”
Stewart’s Seattle return
Former Storm forward Breanna Stewart made her first return to Seattle and Climate Pledge Arena since signing with the Liberty this offseason. It wasn’t easy for Stewart, who mentioned that she had trouble making the decision and still wondered about it leading into the season. Through the first half, Stewart felt like she was “floating” on the court as she battled an emotional rollercoaster. While she was able to settle into the game in the second half, including her strong third quarter that ultimately may have helped spark the surge that helped the Liberty win, Stewart was obviously thinking about her memories made here.
“She started switching and actually short rolling, I thought that they were tough shots. They weren’t free open threes. She was in the mid-range and just shooting over our guards, and where she was catching it, it was a little bit more difficult to bring attention and disrupt there. Then because of our activity defensively, you know rotations, Sabrina got some looks from three. But Stewie in particular, thought she was just more aggressive. But I think that they were tough, very tough looks.”
Anybody that believes Stewart owes the city of Seattle more, or is angry at Stewart for leaving the Storm, doesn’t have the right mindset. Stewart gave her all for this city and the jersey she donned in Seattle, and was the best player on the team for most of the time that she was here. Stewart gave her all, night in and night out, and sometimes dragged this offense along on her own. Without Stewie, the 2018 and 2020 teams do not win championships. Considering why she made the decision, which includes her family, being closer to home, and giving herself the best chance to continue adding to her legacy. It stung to have her go, and it stings to see her in a different jersey (especially doing so well), but she gave her all for this team and she should be respected as such. Who knows, maybe we’ll see her in Storm colors again later.
Breanna Stewart’s night through pictures (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Brick by brick
This is very obviously a new Storm team and a new era in the franchise’s existence, it’s going to be tough early on and likely all season. With that being said, something I’ve tried to preach coming into this year and through these first two games is to focus on the development on some of these players that may very well by the team's future rather than the number of wins or losses that they take. The Storm will likely not win very many games and are on pace to be a lottery team for next year's draft where they can select another key piece in the franchise’s future. Some of those pieces are already here, including center Ezi Magbegor and guard Jade Melbourne. Watching them continue to develop and grow into their own will be fun as the year progresses.
“Yes and no. I think whenever we stop runs, that’s with our offense. Just being able to break down their defense, be more aggressive offensively and make our shots. I think that’s a way to stop runs. Rotation wise, I think we could still work on that. But I think we get better and better each game. I think our rotations were better this game, obviously, we were switching a lot.”
While the obvious choice for best player on this team is Jewell Loyd, as she continues to have great games, she is a free agent after this season and it isn’t exactly clear that she’ll return to Seattle once her contract is up. Two off-season's ago when her contract was up and Sue Bird signed her one-year deal to play out her final season, Loyd signed a two-year contract which was a bit of a surprise considering it seemed like she may be the one to leave. So, if we take her out of the equation, this is a very young team going forward that’s trying to prove itself to the rest of the WNBA. In addition to watching Magbegor and Melbourne coming into their own, the obvious is Jordan Horston, the ninth overall selection in this past year's draft that adds to her game each time out and continues to adjust.
“It was. Obviously, Vonnie (Yvonne Turner) is great defensively and she was better today, I thought more she was engaged on both sides of the floor, but I wanted to see Jade early. You guys can see what she can do. She can pass, she pushes the pace, she’s very smart. What Sami brings is just kind of veteran comfort and knowing that, she also can score the ball, but has moonlighted there a little bit. Going back to Barney could have but I liked what Sammy was bringing as well. So that was a good look today, we learned a lot about that today.”
“She’s actually done a very good job in training camp, honestly and I trusted her game one but it’s just us trying to find some synergy and some chemistry with some other pieces that maybe have impacted that. But I was very confident with her especially after coming to training camp and understanding her mind and how she works and her growth process. We’re going to see more of her.”
Seattle Storm rookie point guard Jade Melbourne’s night through pictures (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Besides the point of picking which players to watch, it must be noted that overall, that’s how you should watch this Seattle Storm season play out this year. The team, if these first three games are any sort of indication, will not make the playoffs. That’s okay, and while it hurts considering how successful the franchise has been, they’re building the next roster that will take the organization to new heights. Franchise legend Lauren Jackson had incredibly high praise for Jade Melbourne. Ezi Magbegor continues to add to her game, and she’s the same age as this year's draft picks having been in the WNBA for three years now. Jordan Horston was a steal at ninth overall for Seattle and has a potential on both sides of the ball, something we’ve already seen. It won’t be easy to stomach the year if you just look at the win-loss, so focusing on the progression and development is the big picture.
“I think that’s what it’s all about. For us, obviously, we are a new team. It’s just about getting better each game, each day of practice. I think that’s been evident in the games that we have played. Obviously, it’s tough starting 0-3. But I think with that, we just look at the positives. And that’s the offense getting better, our defense is getting better, our chemistry is getting better.”
“Better, as we’ve gotten better, we’re three games in with a young, new group. In every single game we’ve learned even more, we kept our turnovers low today, we outrebounded them today, we shot a little bit better last game... I think from a month from now, we will be a lot better. As long as we continue to compete and play hard, and hold that standard of those things, I think good things will happen.”
Quick notes
Seattle used a 14-5 run midway through the second quarter to take its first lead of the game at 35-34 at the 3:56 mark, but the Liberty answered with a quick 9-0 run and would not look back, finishing the half on a 12-4 run to take a 46-39 lead to the break.
Ezi Magbegor had a strong night pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds and adding 12 points, marking her second straight double-double and fifth of her career. She added a season-high three blocks, two assists and a pair of steals.
Sami Whitcomb scored in double-figures for the first time this season, contributing 11 points on 4-of-8 from the field including 3-of-5 from the three-point line.
Mercedes Russell scored 10 points and added four rebounds and four assists, recording her first double-digit game since scoring 14 against Phoenix on Sept. 17, 2021.
Despite going without a three-pointer in the first half for the first time since 2019, the Storm connected on 6-of-10 in the second half to finish 6-of-18. It marked Seattle’s 42nd-straight game with 5+ three-pointers, the longest active streak in the league and the second-longest streak in WNBA history (50, Dallas, 8/4/20-9/19/21).
Coming back to Seattle for the first time after changing teams during the free agency, Breanna Stewart logged a 25-point and 11-rebound double-double, her third in the season and the 57th of her career.
University of Oregon grad Sabrina Ionescu added 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three-point range.
Loyd’s recorded her 400th career 3-pointer at the 1:50 mark of the third quarter, becoming the third Storm player and 26th WNBA player to reach that milestone. In addition, she is the eighth youngest player to record 400 career three-pointers and reached the mark in the 12th fewest games.
What’s next?
Following their third loss in a row to begin the season, the Storm will head out on the road for the first time this year. Seattle will head down to Los Angeles to battle the Sparks for the regular season and second this year if you include the preseason contest that the Storm won. Tipoff for their battle on Saturday, June 3rd at 7PM PST. The Sparks haven’t gotten off to the hottest start to the season, winning their first game on the year against the Phoenix Mercury before they have dropped consecutive games to the Las Vegas Aces. Considering that the Sparks have been dealing with the injury bug as of late and the fact that they’ve struggled out of the gate, it may be a solid opportunity for the Storm to get their first win of the season.