Liberty Defeat Storm 95-83 Part 2
Additional thoughts, discussion, and interviews from Seattle's loss to New York.
The Seattle Storm (6-26) lost their 9th game in a row on Monday in New York. A huge 15-0 run by the Liberty put this game out of reach. If you missed it, you can read the full game recap at the link below.
Big Run Leads Liberty Past Storm 95-83
(Brooklyn, New York) - The Seattle Storm (6-26) lost their 9th game in a row on Monday evening against the New York Liberty (18-13) by a final score of 95-83. While the Liberty led by double-digits in all four quarters, the Storm did cut the deficit to three points late in the third period. Unfortunately, New York went on a 15-0 run between the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter to balloon their lead to 18 points.
For Part 2, I wrote about the changes to the starting lineup. I talked about Flau’jae stepping up big when the lights are brightest. And discussed why this matchup is so important for the growth of Dominique Malonga. I’ve included quotes from Flau’jae, Dom, and Coach Sonia Raman, plus the audio interviews.
New Starting Lineup
It was interesting to see a brand-new starting lineup in the game against New York. For the most part, the Storm have consistently gone with the starting lineup of Jade Melbourne, Natisha Hiedeman, Flau’jae Johnson, Awa Fam, and Dominique Malonga since late June. But on Monday, Ezi Magbegor entered the starting lineup for the first time this season. That meant Awa Fam was relegated to the bench.
The result? Well, it wasn’t particularly great. Magbegor finished with four points on 2-6 FG, five rebounds, and was a game-worst -19 (negative 19 in plus/minus) in 21 minutes. Awa Fam also had her struggles coming off the bench. She was in foul trouble through portions of the game and made just 1-8 FG. However, Fam finished with a game-best nine rebounds. And she was a team-best +6 off the bench.
It’s far too early to make any rash judgments after one game.
Coach Raman was asked in the post-game about the lineup changes.