Storm falter late, losing 85-77 to Sparks
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In a tough game, against a team they should beat, the Seattle Storm faltered late after a hot start. Seattle came out in the first quarter hitting threes, pushing the pace, and playing solid defense. Those three things were a staple of Storm basketball for a long time. Seattle would hit a snag, and never really regained their footing. Big second and fourth quarters, as well as a big advantage in rebounding, dug Seattle a deep hole that they never got out of.
Energetic start fizzles out
As mentioned previously, the Storm came out firing in the first quarter. Two quick buckets from Ezi Magbegor on Liz Cambage started the game off. Breanna Stewart nailed several three pointers, and the Storm were pushing the pace. It seemed like Seattle was going to steam roll to a victory over a Los Angeles team that was all over the place, on the court and off of it. A big second quarter quickly turned things around for the Sparks, and all of the sudden Seattle was in a hole. Breanna Stewart would reflect on the game.
“I think the third was back and forth, going into the fourth they were able to execute off of our miscues... basically, they were scoring and we weren’t. I think that sometimes we got a couple open looks and we couldn’t knock it in. Scoring nine points in the fourth quarter is unacceptable”
Late mishaps close the door
To begin the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 68 each. Seattle had clawed back and was playing a physical game against Los Angeles. The Storm had battled their way back into it, and with their veterans, it seemed like they could work their way back into it. Seattle has the veteran leadership to be able to close out games, but that characteristic clutch performance did not show in this game. While Breanna Stewart had a great performance throughout, her shots did not fall late. Jewell Loyd had a somewhat off game. Gabby Williams is still seeking consistent offensive footing. Storm head coach Noelle Quinn would reflect on the offensive decision making late.
“Shot selection was bad. I don’t wanna say that every shot was bad or contested, but I have a snapshot in my head of a lot of bad shots, out of rhythm shots, a lot of rushed shots”
This is an ugly loss for Seattle. While the Sparks do have talent on their roster, they are a team in disarray. They don’t have things figured out, and are playing under an interim head coach. Seeing the shot selection by Seattle late, the complete shift in the way that the game was going, is disappointing. While Mercedes Russell is out, the Storm should have won this game. Rumors about Tina Charles signing with Seattle are nice, but there are issues that need to be resolved even after a potential addition. With two months to play in the regular season, there are some key weeks coming up for Seattle to figure things out.
The Storm’s next matchup comes Wednesday, June 29th against the Las Vegas Aces. A battle of the top two of teams in the Western Conference tips off at 7PM PST inside of Climate Pledge Arena. Seattle will need to turn things around quickly if they want to have any sort of chance against this high-flying Aces team.