International Victory! Storm Win 80-78

Seattle finally snaps their 6-game losing streak with a win over Atlanta.

(Vancouver, Canada) - It took going to a different country, but the Seattle Storm (17-17) finally picked up a victory this month. They snapped their six-game losing streak in thrilling fashion against a very talented Atlanta Dream (21-12) team. The outcome wasn’t a certainty until the final buzzer sounded. The Storm blew a 12-point 4th quarter lead and trailed by five with three minutes to go. With everything going wrong lately, it would have been easy for them to give up, but they didn’t. They fought back. It was their defense that made big plays down the stretch. Ezi Magbegor had multiple blocks. Gabby Williams had an important deflection and steal. Seattle needed one more stop to secure the win. Ezi Magbegor and Brittney Sykes forced Rhyne Howard into a difficult shot that she missed. The Storm celebrated at the buzzer with an 80-78 win.

Seattle used a balanced attack with five players scoring in double figures. Skylar Diggins led the way with 21 points and a game-high 11 assists. Nneka Ogwumike added 16 points and eight rebounds. Brittney Sykes contributed with 13 points, two steals, and a block. Gabby Williams had 11 points. Dominique Malonga added 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench. She was also a team-high +12 in plus/minus after being a game-worst -25 against Atlanta on Wednesday.

Both the Storm and Dream shot the ball well overall. They both made 47% of their shots. Seattle made 33-71 FG and Atlanta connected on 27-58 FG. Surprisingly, Seattle outshot the Dream 33% (6-18 FG) to 15% (2-13 FG) from beyond the three-point arc. They outscored them 50-46 inside the paint. They had a massive 25-4 advantage in fast break points. They also forced the Dream into 13 turnovers and had a 14-10 edge in points off turnovers.

Despite being the “road team” for this game, the majority of the B.C. crowd was cheering for Seattle. The Storm will always have the honor of being the first WNBA team to win a regular-season game in Canada. After the game, the Dream’s Rhyne Howard mentioned that it felt like a road game for them. Nneka Ogwumike also talked about the support of the Canadian crowd, but she wasn’t surprised considering the close proximity to Seattle.

Atlanta Dream

The Dream were led by Rhyne Howard, who finished with 21 points. However, she wasn’t as efficient. She shot 40% (4-10 FG) and made just one three-point shot, compared to the five that she hit against Seattle on Wednesday. She lived at the Free Throw line and had as many attempts from the charity stripe as the Storm did as an entire team. Howard finished 12-13 FT from the foul line.

Brionna Jones had a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. She scored six points to open up the Dream’s fourth-quarter rally. Allisha Gray added 12 points, five rebounds, and a team-high four assists. However, she was held to 4-12 FG from the floor. Brittney Griner added 10 points off the bench in 15 minutes.

Atlanta out-rebounded Seattle 37-30. Both teams had seven offensive rebounds and nine second-chance points. The Dream’s bench outscored Seattle’s reserves 19-12. Te-Hina PaoPao added five points. They were able to keep the game close by dominating the free throw line. They were +14 from the foul line as they made 22-25 FT compared to Seattle’s 8-13 FT.

With the loss, the Dream drop into a tie with the New York Liberty and fall below them in the standings to third place. The Storm remain 1/2 game ahead of the Los Angeles Sparks for the 8th and final playoff spot.

Game Breakdown

Nneka Ogwumike knocked down a corner three for the game’s first basket. Brionna Jones finished with a step-through layup. Gabby Williams curled off a screen and finished with the left hand. Allisha Gray used a beautiful backdoor cut to make a wide-open layup. Diggins found Ezi Magbegor at the rim. Atlanta scored on three consecutive possessions. Allisha Gray made a beautiful pass that split two defenders and found Jones open for the layup. Naz Hillmon then lost Nneka Ogwumike on a baseline backdoor cut. Then Brittney Griner made a turnaround past Dominique Malonga.

Seattle responded with a 7-0 run. Sykes got to the rim, Nneka hit a three, and Malonga scored as well.

Allisha Gray answered with an AND1. Gabby Williams knocked down a triple. Rhyne Howard would add a three-pointer shortly thereafter. Maya Caldwell hit a midrange jumper. Howard was fouled on a made layup but missed the extra free throw. The Dream finished with a 10-5 run. The Storm led 21-20 over Atlanta at the end of the first quarter.

Gabby Williams did a hard drive to the rim and scored. There was a lot of contact as Williams fell hard to the ground, but no whistle was blown. Gabby remained on the ground in pain, holding her right wrist. Seattle was forced to foul to stop play as Williams exited the game. Brittney Griner scored after repositioning herself down low. Hillmon pushed Tiffany Mitchell out of the way for the offensive rebound, despite Mitchell doing a good job of boxing her out.

Storm answered back with a 13-2 run. Malonga scored in the paint. Brittney Sykes got a steal and finished down the other end. After two free throws from Rhyne Howard, Diggins made an outside shot. Sykes then got an AND1. Then Dom Malonga scored again.

Bri Jones was fouled, made the first, missed the second, grabbed her own offensive rebound, and kicked it out to Te-Hina PaoPao for the three to make a four-point possession. Diggins answered with a jumper. After multiple empty possessions by both teams, Ogwumike was fouled and split the two shots. Bri Jones scored off the pick-and-roll. Then Allisha Gray forced a steal and scored on the other end. Sykes was able to draw a foul, but also missed a free throw.

Seattle led 40-34 at the midway point. Atlanta outshot Seattle 47% (14-30 FG) to 45% (17-38 FG). Notably, the Dream made just 2-9 FG (22%) from beyond the arc in the first half. Seattle had a 12-2 advantage in fast break points through the first 20 minutes.

Atlanta jumped out to a 7-2 run to begin the 3rd period. Gabby picked up a technical foul. Then Rhyne Howard was fouled on a three-point shot. Atlanta scored four points on the possession. The Dream cut Seattle’s lead down to one after Naz Hillmon scored at the rim. Quinn subbed Dom Malonga in, and she quickly ended the run with a stepback jumper in the lane. It spurred on a 10-0 run by the Storm. That included back-to-back three-pointers by Diggins and Sykes. That gave the Storm a 52-41 lead.

Seattle took a 15-point lead at 60-45 after baskets from Malonga and Ogwumike. Atlanta used an 8-2 run to cut their deficit down to nine, but Skylar scored five points in the final thirty seconds, including a three-pointer at the buzzer to put Seattle ahead 67-55. That shot would play a major factor in the game’s final outcome.

Bri Jones scored on back-to-back possessions, as the Storm committed two turnovers to begin the 4th. Allisha Gray was fouled and made both free throws. Jones scored again as she bullied her way to the rim. The Dream opened the 4th on an 8-0 run, forcing Coach Noelle Quinn to call a timeout.

Allisha Gray hit a jumper as the run continued. Nia Coffey was fouled and made both as the Dream extended to a 12-0 run to start the 4th quarter. Skylar Diggins scored Seattle’s first basket nearly five minutes into the frame. Atlanta continued to score as Nia Coffey and Griner scored down low. Rhyne Howard was then fouled on a three-point attempt. She made all three to give Atlanta a five-point lead at 76-71. It looked like Seattle was doomed to another loss.

Diggins was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all of her free throws. Ezi Magbegor then had a huge block that led to a fast break layup by Ogwumike. Griner was whistled for an offensive foul. Nneka was smacked in the face and made one of two free throws. Magbegor’s defense came up huge again with a block on Brionna Jones that led to a 24-second shot clock violation. Gabby then got a steal and dove to the floor to knock the ball to Brittney Sykes, who raced down the other end for a layup. Seattle used an 8-0 run to retake the lead.

Rhyne Howard was fouled on the drive and made both free throws. On the next possession, Skylar Diggins drove to the rim and appeared to be fouled, but the call was challenged. Atlanta got the ball as the call was reversed. Brittney Sykes was credited with a block against Howard, and Ezi Magbegor secured the rebound.

Seattle advanced the ball, but couldn’t find anyone open. Atlanta did a great job of taking away the first couple of options, and the Storm got the ball into Magbegor, who was immediately fouled. Ezi missed the first, but made the second free throw to put the Storm ahead by two. Atlanta called a timeout to move the ball up. They had a chance to tie or win the game with roughly nine seconds left. The Dream got the ball to Rhyne Howard, Brittney Sykes, and Ezi Magbegor played the defense straight up and forced Howard into a difficult shot that she missed. The final buzzer sounded with the Storm ahead 80-78.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (17-17) return home to host the Phoenix Mercury (19-13) on Sunday, August 17th at 3:00 PM. It’s also Sue Bird day, as her statue will be revealed in the early morning outside Climate Pledge Arena. Seattle is 2-1 against Phoenix this season. A win would give the Storm the tiebreaker advantage if they happened to finish with the same record at the end of the season.

Part 2

Part 2 will include additional thoughts and discussion from Friday’s game against the Atlanta Dream. It’ll be sent exclusively to paid subscribers.

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