The Storm need Jewell Loyd to deliver against Fever
By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - When the Indiana Fever made their first trek to the PNW on May 22nd, the Storm wound up on top by a score of 85-83, in front of a franchise record 18,343 fans at Climate Pledge Arena.
That will be the case in yet another sellout tonight as Indiana (7-11) looks to get a victory in the season series, sitting at 0-2 against Seattle (10-6) in their head-to-head matchup.
Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd during the teams May 22nd, 2024 win over the Indiana Fever in front of a sold out crowd at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
In the home win, Storm guard Jewell Loyd led all scorers with 32 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor, and 40 percent from deep (2-5).
Loyd has struggled a bit since, only shooting above league-average four times in the last 11 games.
With the signings of future first-ballot Hall of Famers Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith in the offseason, a drop in scoring was all but expected from the historic pace and numbers that “The Gold Mamba” put up last year. What’s concerning about these early struggles is the efficiency in which the points are scored.
Through 16 games, she’s averaging 18.4 points — six points fewer than her league-leading 24.7 points last year — on a career-low 33.7% shooting clip, including 22.9% on three-pointers — the lowest since her rookie year in 2015.
“We’ve seen this before on her journey. We’ve been through it as an organization. I’ve been through it as her teammate and coach. That’s why I’m not too concerned. Just keeping her confident and getting the reps in.”
In the past six games, Loyd is 3-of-34 from three, including 0-for-13 in the last three outings.
While Loyd’s efficiency has dipped, she’s averaging career bests in rebounds (5.5 per game) and assists (3.8). She’s also averaging 1.4 steals, making sure to impact these games in other aspects.
This years Storm team doesn’t need Loyd to score at the rate she did last season. With a dribble-drive game and tenacity that strikes fear into the hearts of defenses, she’s been at her best when pushing the pace of the offense and getting to the rim. At one point this season, she led all guards in paint points. Luckily for Loyd, that’s where the Fever come in.
Indiana surrenders the fourth-most points in the paint to guards at 20.8 per game. For Seattle to win, their starting backcourt has to put pressure on the rim. In the two previous matchups, it proved to be a viable strategy. Allowing Loyd and Diggins-Smith, who’s sixth in the WNBA in paint scoring (7.1 per game), to penetrate while finding a cutter was how she finished with five assists in the May 22nd win.
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