Storm punch first in dominant win over Lynx

By Bel Garcia

Seattle, WA - On an emotional night of commemorating Briann January and Sylvia Fowles, Seattle gets the win in an impressive all team performance. The Storm set the tone for the game in the first half. They took a commanding lead in the first quarter and never gave it up to the Lynx. Seattle started the game scoring four straight three pointers on their first four possessions, the last time this was achieved was also by the Seattle Storm back in July of 2019. All four three-pointers came from different players: Gabby Williams, Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, and Tina Charles all sank their own threes. Coming into the game, Coach Quinn emphasized how tough the season ending stretch for Seattle will be as they face the Lynx once again, as well as the Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky. When asked if this game was going to help set the tone for how the rest of the season would be played, she responded with absolutely. Compared to other games where Seattle has started off hot and wasn’t able to hold off their opponent in late runs, they threw the first punch and never let up.

Sylvia Fowles and Sue Bird embrace pregame (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)

Defense leads to offense

Seattle’s lead was impressive to start the game, but what helped take the lead early was their aggressiveness on defense. Defensive stops led to Fastbreak points early for the Storm, as by halftime they had 26 Fastbreak points. The Storm were able to be disruptive of the Lynx offense and held all but Fowles to less than double digits in points, while also containing Sylvia Fowles to only 12 points for the night. Gabby Williams is a player who sets out to do the little things every time she steps on the court, and tonight she contributed equally in all areas, ending the night with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists. One of those assists which came from an impressive behind the back pass. When asked whether the defense helped in getting out in transition for the Fastbreak points, Williams emphasized “defense is just as important because it starts our offense, it gives us confidence.” Confidence was something that she, as well as the full starting lineup seemed very comfortable with tonight. It was mentioned once again by Gabby when speaking about the level of fun that the team was having in front of a sold-out crowd at Climate Pledge Arena. “We were feeding off of each other’s energy, there were smiles while we were on the court, it added to our confidence,” said Williams.

Gabby Williams was impactful all over the court (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)

Job not done

Tonight’s win is a good way to continue towards the end of the regular season. Seattle took an early lead against a team that is still fighting for their playoff standing, and was bound to try to crawl back in the game. While Seattle has already clinched a playoff spot, they are not letting their foot off the gas as they eye possible home court advantage. Stewart, who had another MVP like performance with 33 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, emphasized the sense of urgency, “we are trying to peak at the right moment and make sure standing wise we’re in a good place.” The entire starting lineup had great contributions to tonight’s win, Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird also scored in double figures and were aggressive on offense. If this is a roadmap to how the Storm plan to execute in their games to end the season, they will be giving the tough teams a challenge. They currently stand two games behind the Las Vegas Aces for the top seed in the Western Conference and will face them on Sunday for Sue Bird’s last regular season game at Climate Pledge Arena. Tipoff is at 12PM PST, and the game will be broadcast on ABC.

Briann January was also honored pregame (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)