Mercury Win Easily Against Storm 90-67

Seattle's struggles down in Phoenix continue.

(Phoenix, Arizona) - The Seattle Storm (5-16) had another disappointing performance down in the desert. It looked like a repeat performance of their June 20th game, in which they were never competitive and lost 93-73. On Thursday night, Seattle fell behind by double digits in the first period, trailed by 19 at halftime, and trailed by as many as 26 points before falling to the Phoenix Mercury (8-13) by a final score of 90-67. Phoenix won all three games in the season series and the last two by a combined 43 points.

After the game, I talked to both Natisha Hiedeman and Coach Raman about why the Mercury have given them such problems this season.

Hiedeman answered, “Yeah, I mean, they’re a great team, but I just think we just got to do the little things better, you know? Rebound the basketball. We didn’t shoot well tonight. Turning the ball over. So just cleaning up little things like that, and I think once we do that, it’ll be a better chance at winning the game.”

Coach Raman added, “They’re a really good team. They’re a tough match-up for us for sure. But I think there are things that we could have done a lot better, especially in the 1st half, to kind of set ourselves up a little bit more. Some adjustments, some fixes, some corrections at halftime on our defensive end really proved to help us a lot, I think, in the 2nd half. I don’t know exactly what it was in terms of shots not falling. That’s going to happen. And so being able to lean into our defense more on a night like tonight. But I also think we didn’t share the ball as much as we usually do. And so just kind of getting that ball moving a little bit more. I think it would have helped our offense a little bit more.”

Four players scored in double figures, but none had more than 13 points. Rookie Awa Fam led the way with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Natisha Hiedeman added 13 points on 6-11 FG, but was a game-worst -29 in plus/minus. Rookie Flau’jae Johnson contributed with 11 points, but struggled from the floor, making just 4-12 FG attempts. She had a couple of plays that were out of control as she tried to force the issue a bit too much, with the team struggling.

Jade Melbourne scored 11 points and had a team-high five assists. Melbourne also went 2-4 FG from beyond the arc, as she continues to improve her three-point shooting in recent games. Dominique Malonga really struggled, scoring just five points on 2-11 FG, and looking frustrated by a one-sided whistle.

One positive was that Ezi Magbegor and Jordan Horston returned from their injuries and provided solid contributions. Magbegor scored 8 points on 3-4 FG, including her first two from beyond the arc. Horston added six points and was a big part of the Storm’s 8-0 rally late in the third period.

I talked with Magbegor after the game and asked her how it felt to be back out on the court.

Ezi said, “It felt really good. I think I just realized how much I miss playing, and I think we’ve done such a great job of just building what we have with this team. So it was just nice to be on the floor and be healthy again. Obviously, it would have been nice to get the win, but I think it’s just, you know, one step at a time, so just getting used to playing with my teammates again.”

Seattle lost pretty much every single stat battle in this game. Their bench outscored Phoenix’s reserves 14-10 thanks to Magbegor and Horston.

Phoenix Mercury

Kahleah Copper was pretty much unstoppable throughout the game. She scored 23 points on 9-12 FG in the first half and finished with a game-high 30 points. She bullied some of Seattle’s smaller defenders and was very aggressive to the rim.

Phoenix got help in less common places. Valériane Ayayi scored 18 points. Lexi Held added 17 points and made 5-6 FG from 3-PT range. Alyssa Thomas nearly had a triple-double with nine points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists.

The home team had the advantage everywhere. They outshot Seattle 45% (33-73 FG) to 42% (26-62 FG). Phoenix out-rebounded them 40-29, including a 13-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. The Mercury outscored the Storm 20-6 in second-chance points, 40-28 with points in the paint, 16-7 in fast break points, and 20-15 in points off turnovers. They had more assists (23-19), more made 3-PT shots (11-8), more made free throws (13-7), and more steals (9-5).

Game Breakdown

Awa Fam scored the game’s first basket from the midrange. Kahleah Copper got to the rim to tie the game. Flau’jae Johnson found Natisha Hiedeman for the baseline jumper. Valériane Ayayi drilled a three at the top of the key. Then Alyssa Thomas scored in a two-on-one transition drill. Johnson answered with a nifty reverse layup. Kahleah Copper was fouled and added two from the line to put Phoenix ahead 9-6.

Jade Melbourne found Dominique Malonga inside for the easy layup. After that, the Mercury went on a 10-2 run. Lexi Held connected on a corner three, Ayayi scored inside, and was fouled for the And-1. Hiedeman dribbled the ball off her foot that led to an open floor score by DeWanna Bonner. Thomas snagged an offensive rebound and found Copper cutting to the rim for two more to put the Mercury ahead 19-10, forcing Storm Coach Sonia Raman to call a timeout.

Flau’jae picked up a technical foul during the TV break. After the made technical, Ezi Magbegor made her first basket of the season, a shot from beyond the arc. Natisha Hiedeman added another triple to cut the Storm’s deficit down to five at 21-16. Ayayi added another two from the free throw line. Hiedeman answered with a midrange jumper. Marta Suarez scored on back-to-back possessions for Phoenix as they pushed their lead to nine at 27-18.

Melbourne added two free throws, but Alyssa Thomas responded with another strong drive and an And-1 for Phoenix. Thomas sank the Mercury’s 9th free throw of the first quarter. At the end of the opening frame, Seattle trailed 31-20.

Melbourne scored a free throw and a three-pointer to open up the second quarter. Phoenix went on a 10-0 run after that. Kahleah Copper scored the first seven, and then Lexi Held connected on another three-point basket. That put the Mercury ahead 43-24 and forced Coach Raman into another timeout. Immediately out of the timeout, Seattle turned the ball over, and Copper scored an easy layup.

Flau’jae Johnson found Awa Fam down low. Ezi hit a corner three, then the Storm got a steal and a fast break layup by Melbourne. Hiedeman cut the Storm’s deficit down to 13 with a made field goal. Copper scored again in the paint, her 20th and 21st points of the first half. Fam spun right into the defense and turned the ball over. That allowed the Mercury to get out and run as Bonner finished with another transition layup. One more layup by Copper before the end of the period put Phoenix ahead by 19. The Mercury led 55-36 at the end of the first half.

Kahleah Copper led all scorers through the first two periods with 23 points on 9-12 FG. Valériane Ayayi added 12 more. Natisha Hiedeman led Seattle through the opening 20 minutes with 11 points. Jade Melbourne and the returning Ezi Magbegor added eight points each. The Mercury out-rebounded the Storm 23-12, and that included a 10-1 advantage in offensive rebounds. Phoenix outscored Seattle 30-16 with points in the paint and 12-2 in second-chance points.

Dom Malonga scored inside the paint to open up the second half. Phoenix answered with a midrange jumper from Lexi Held and a beautiful pocket pass to Alyssa Thomas for the layup. Malonga got a steal, and Seattle had a fast break opportunity, but Hiedeman tried to force a pass past two defenders and turned it over. That immediately resulted in a transition three for Held, which put the Mercury ahead by 24 points. Fam scored on a deep two and then on a two-on-one fast break to cut it down to 20. Held and Ayayi added back-to-back triples to push the lead to 68-42.

Seattle had a nice 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 18. A lot of that was spurred on by Jordan Horston, who got the run started with a nice midrange jumper. She also had an offensive rebound putback layup and a defensive deflection. Flau’jae knocked down a three-ball with an assist from Horston. Ayayi hit another triple, and Marta Suarez added two more from the line. Awa Fam and Jade Melbourne each added consecutive three-point baskets, and Johnson scored on a drive through traffic to end the period. At the end of the third quarter, the Mercury led 73-58.

Fam scored on a midrange jumper. Copper got to the rim again. Flau’jae made a three-pointer, then Hiedeman with a dribble pull-up to cut the Storm’s deficit to 10. Lexi Held connected on her 5th triple of the game. Another layup by Copper pushed the home team’s lead back up to 15 at 80-65. Copper scored her 30th point on a three-point jumper.

Phoenix outscored Seattle 10-2 over the final few minutes of the game. With the game out of hand, both teams emptied their benches. The Mercury defeated the Seattle Storm 90-67 and swept the season series 3-0.

Final Box Score

Player Interviews

Ezi Magbegor and Natisha Hiedeman:

Coach Raman pre-game:

Coach Raman post-game:

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (5-16) return home to host the Portland Fire (8-12) on Saturday, July 4th at 6:00 PM. The Fire won the first matchup in a thrilling 94-89 contest.

Notes:
I am feeling under the weather, so I’ve focused on just this article and likely won’t write a Part 2. I have a separate piece or two I’m working on that will hopefully be out within the next couple of days.

Photography Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography
Thanks to Her Hoop Stats and Across the Timeline for being great resources!

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