Odd fourth quarter solidifies loss for Seattle; Storm fall to Fever 80-68
By Bel Garcia, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Aliyah Boston and the Indiana Fever were in town to play the Seattle Storm for the first time this season, in one of the three games slated for WNBA Pride Night. Boston was recently named Player of the Week for her performance; she is the first rookie to get the honors since Tamika Catchings in 2002. Catchings went on to win Rookie of the Year in that 02 season. Boston and her team were welcomed to Climate Pledge Arena by a Jewell Loyd led Storm team; Loyd was also named Player of the Week for the Western Conference while still holding the lead on points averaged in the entire league. In the past couple of Storm matchups, a win and a loss, Jewell Loyd had 30+ points. Her first one of tonight’s game, a swish right through the middle of the net, was a good starting sign but not quite close to 30.
First half flicks from the Seattle Storm loss to the Indiana Fever, as Seattle seemed to find consistent scoring from their starters while looking for more stops defensively (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Through the first quarter, veterans Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor carried most of the load on offense. While it worked to keep them in the, Seattle needed more. Things got quiet after the first initial minutes for the rest of the Storm, but they kept up on rebounds and locked down on defense to keep the lead within reach. Jordan Horston, who has been moved out of the starting lineup was subbed in, had an immediate presence. Her hustle is always seen on both sides of the court, but isn’t always translated on the score sheet. The first quarter ended tied at 23, both teams shooting under 50% from the field with similar stats on the board.
The Storm had a run of 10:23 between baskets, which is simply too much to overcome in the second half (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Seattle did an okay job of containing Indiana as much as possible, but did struggle at times with fouls in attempt to defend. The fouls seemed to rack up fast for the Storm, midway through the second quarter, as they had notched their fourth foul which placed them in the penalty. Sami Whitcomb was defending a jump shot while straight up, and on the slight move up with the shooter was called for a flagrant foul. Players cannot jeopardize a shooter landing space and the slight inch forward to move with the shooter was enough to warrant the call. The offense was stagnant for some time with several missed shots, only down five when a Queen Egbo turnover turned into a Loyd and-1. A momentum shift? Not quite. Indiana’s NaLyssa Smith and Seattle’s Ivana Dojkic went shot for shot to send us to the half with a score of 48-44.
The poor foul calls continued into the second half, as immediately the Storm possessions started with back-to-back fouls. Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell was able to capitalize on the mistakes and turnovers with a good shooting night. Mitchell led her team in points, increasing their lead, and was getting shots in from all spots on the floor. She ended the quarter on a made three; having six of the team’s nine. The game continued to get away from the Storm in the fourth, when missed shots turned to mistakes on the opposite side. Seattle allowed easy points in the paint with mismatches or a player losing their defensive assignment. With only four minutes left on the clock and no points scored, Jewell Loyd was assessed a technical foul for foul language as she expressed frustration with the lack of calls for the Storm. That frustration was building, rightfully so, with many players hitting the deck and not getting a single call, furthering the lack of scoring.
Seattle’s Jordan Horston broke the no basket streak with three minutes remaining, and got a spark going for the team on offense and defense. They ran out time and Indiana went on to win 80-68, as Mitchell iced the game with another three. Indiana’s NaLyssa Smith tallied a double-double, while Boston flirted with one. Loyd and Magbegor were Seattle’s leading scorers, 19 and 18 points respectively. They now look ahead to their matchup against the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, June 24th, with a tipoff time of 6PM PST.