Fever Topple Depleted Storm 89-78

Seattle falls to 1-3 on the season after Sunday's loss.

(Indianapolis, Indiana) - The Seattle Storm (1-3) played a hard-fought game in Indiana on Sunday afternoon, but ultimately came up short. They were without Dominique Malonga, Ezi Magbegor, and Awa Fam in their front court, which made life difficult in the interior. Seattle trailed by 15 points in the first quarter and by 20 points in the 2nd half, but never lacked effort or the will to compete. In the end, it wasn’t quite enough to out-duel the backcourt duo of Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell as the Storm fell 89-78 to the Indiana Fever (2-2).

I spoke with Coach Sonia Raman about the team’s ability to compete while being without key players and on the road.

“We talked about it before the game, these runs that they can go on, and being on the road, you have to have that next play mentality. So I’m proud of them. I told them that after the game as well. That game easily could have gotten away from us, and I think the way that we battled back, it tells us a little bit about who we are in this young season and with this new group.” Raman said.

“Just having that fight in them, that’s something that I haven’t ever questioned with them. They’re a resilient group, and I think they showed it tonight,” she added.

Natisha Hiedeman played her best game of the season, finishing with a team-high 19 points, including 3-6 FG from beyond the arc. Despite another rough shooting performance (3-14 FG), Flau’jae Johnson finished with 14 points, six rebounds, and four blocked shots. Johnson got to the free throw line for a team-high nine shots, sinking 8-9 FT. Zia Cooke added 13 points off the bench and a team-high four assists. Jade Melbourne rounded out the group of double-digit scorers with 12 points and a perfect 6-6 FT from the foul line.

I spoke with Hiedeman after the game about stepping up with a strong performance.

“I feel like that’s what I can take away from this game with our team. When you’re down a player, everybody got to step up and be a little bit more aggressive. So I kind of feel like that was the mindset going into the game, and I feel like that was kind of everybody’s mindset.” Hiedeman told me.

Seattle was outshot and out-rebounded in this game. They did an admirable job of taking care of the basketball. They committed just eight turnovers and forced the Fever into 20 mishaps. The Storm outscored the Fever 22-14 in points off turnovers. Their defense was more active with nine steals and eight blocks.

Indiana Fever

The Fever were led by Caitlin Clark, who finished with a near-triple-double of 21 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. Clark made 50% of her shots (5-10 FG) and was a perfect 9-9 FT from the foul line. Kelsey Mitchelled added 17 points. Sophie Cunningham also had a strong performance as she was moved to the bench in favor of Lexie Hull. Cunningham added 17 points on 5-9 FG and was also a perfect 6-6 FG from the line. In fact, the Fever as a team shot 100% from the free throw line (22-22 FT).

Indiana outshot the Storm 46% (31-67 FG) to 35% (25-71 FG). They out-rebounded Seattle 38-24. They had the edge in assists (22-17), points in the paint (50-30), fast break points (12-6), and bench points (30-25).

Aliyah Boston did not play in this game due to a lower leg injury.

Game Breakdown

Myisha Hines-Allen scored the game’s first basket inside the paint. Jade Melbourne tied the game with a drive to the lane. Lexie Hull scored near the rim as Indiana looked to take advantage of the absence of Dominique Malonga. Natisha Hiedeman put the Storm ahead by one with a three-pointer. Caitlin Clark found her teammates with back-to-back assists. Flau’jae Johnson was fouled to cut the Storm’s deficit to one at 8-7.

Seattle was out of sorts on defense, as Kelsey Mitchell got a wide-open layup, and then Caitlin Clark had an open three-pointer after the Storm turned the ball over in the open court. The triple put the Fever ahead 13-7 and forced Coach Raman to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, things got worse for the Storm. Turnovers by Mackenzie Holmes and Jade Melbourne led to five consecutive points by Sophie Cunningham. That ballooned Indiana’s lead to 11. Grace VanSlooten had a nice drive and was fouled, but missed both free throws. Kelsey Mitchell found Makayla Timpson for the layup. Zia Cooke split two free throws and then scored on the next possession. The Fever countered with a Damiris Dantas three-pointer and another score from Mitchell. Melbourne found Mackenzie Holmes rolling to the rim off the pick-and-roll.

Hiedeman got to the rim for two. Zia Cooke hit a stepback triple. Clark was fouled and made both free throws. Then she buried a three from near the half-court logo. Cooke helped cut the Fever’s lead with two more free throws.

At the end of the first period, the Fever led the Storm 32-19. Caitlin Clark led the Fever with eight points. Sophie Cunningham added seven points off the bench. Zia Cooke provided a nice spark for the Storm with eight points off the bench. Without Dominique Malonga and Ezi Magbegor, the Storm’s interior defense was noticeably lacking. They were outscored 18-4 inside the paint through the first 10 minutes.

Clark shot two more free throws to begin the 2nd quarter. Flau’jae Johnson got on the board with a strong drive to the rim. Then knocked down a dribble pull-up from the midrange. Lexie Hull and Ty Harris added four more points from the foul line. Hideman scored four straight for Seattle by being able to get to the rim. Monique Billings and Mackenzie Holmes exchanged baskets inside the paint. Holmes was left wide-open near the rim, and that immediately triggered Fever Coach Stephanie White to call a timeout.

Seattle cut their deficit to 10, but immediately turned the ball over, which led to a transition layup by Caitlin Clark. Melbourne scored two free throws. VanSlooten stole the ball and raced past Clark to score at the rim. That cut Indiana’s lead to 42-34. Free throws by Clark and Hines-Allen extended the Fever’s lead back to double-digits. Jade had a nice drive to the rim, but Clark answered back with an AND1 on a bit of a circus shot.

Jordan Horston snagged a steal and was able to score in transition. Melbourne scored two more from the line. Clark set up her teammates with a few more assists to Lexie Hull, Myisha Hines-Allen, and Kelsey Mitchell. Horston found Stef Dolson down low for two more. Hiedeman drove hard to the rim and scored right before the halftime buzzer.

At the midway point, the Indiana Fever led 55-44. Hiedeman led the Storm with 11 points through the first 20 minutes. Clark topped the Fever with 17 points. Indiana outshot the Storm 50% (18-36 FG) to 44% (15-34 FG).

Clark found Mitchell cutting backdoor for the easy layup. Mitchell scored again to put the Fever ahead by 15. Hiedeman crossed up Clark for a midrange pull-up. Flau’jae was fouled right before the shot clock expired and hit both free throws. VanSlooten had a nice block that led to a jumper for Johnson in transition. Unfortunately, Seattle lost Kelsey Mitchell on the other end, and she made them pay with another three-point basket. That forced Coach Raman to call another timeout to clean up the defensive errors.

Sophie Cunningham got past Lexie Brown for an AND1 score and foul. VanSlooten faked the three and drove to the rim for two. Cunningham scored five more over the next couple of possessions. Brown hit a triple in between those scores. Lexie Hull scored an AND1 on Lexie Brown. Clark drew the foul on Cooke with 00.1 seconds left in the third period. She sank both to put the Indiana Fever ahead 77-58 as the two teams prepared to enter the final frame.

Hiedeman found Dolson down low for two. Cunningham scored again with another assist from Clark. VanSlooten got a steal that led to a Cooke three-pointer in transition. Clark added two more from the midrange. Flau’jae was fouled and scored a pair. Eight of Johnson’s 14 points came from the free throw line.

Timpson scored on back-to-back possessions for the Fever, including an impressive offensive rebound tip-in. Hines-Allen gave Indiana a 20-point lead with a nice spin move in the low post. Hiedeman knocked down a 3-PT shot. Jade was fouled on another drive and added two more from the line. Natisha buried another three to cut the Storm’s deficit down to 12, forcing Fever Coach Stephanie White to call a timeout. Over the final two minutes, Seattle was only able to tack on one more point while holding Indiana scoreless. At the final buzzer, the Fever had secured an 89-78 victory.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Storm (1-3) will return home for a four-game homestand after three straight on the road. The schedule gets slightly easier with back-to-back home games against the Connecticut Sun (0-4). The first is on Wednesday, 5/20, at 7:00 PM.

Notes:
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