Mystics Defense Shuts Down Storm Part 2

Additional thoughts, interviews, and discussion on Seattle's loss to Washington.

Once again, the Seattle Storm’s offense struggled to find answers against the Washington Mystics’ defense. The Storm were outscored 37-10 during a portion of the second and third periods, and despite a heroic effort by Dominique Malonga and Seattle’s reserves, they were unable to get the win for Seattle. The Mystics beat the Storm 69-58. If you missed it, you can read the full game recap here.

In Part 2, I wrote more about the impact Brittney Sykes and Sonia Citron had on the game, plus additional thoughts on Dominique Malonga, why this was a “good” loss for Seattle, and questioned whether the Storm are a fun team. I’ve also included some post-game quotes, plus the full post-game press conference interviews (video & audio) for you to enjoy.

Sykes and Citron

I was very impressed by the defensive tenacity of Brittney Sykes and Sonia Citron. This wasn’t shocking to me. Sykes has been known as one of the league’s best perimeter players. She’s been All-Defensive First or Second team in four separate seasons (2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023). She had the primary assignment to make life difficult against Skylar Diggins. Sykes limited Diggins to just five points on 2-10 FG shooting. Skylar was held to 10 points on 4-14 FG during the first matchup, where Seattle lost 74-69.

While Sykes did her jog against Diggins, it was rookie Sonia Citron who locked Gabby Williams down. Williams also struggled, managing to score just two points on 1-7 FG attempts. She also didn’t have as much impact in other areas as she normally does. Gabby finished with just two rebounds and one assist. When the two teams met on July 13th, Williams finished with six points on 2-9 FG shooting in that game.

The defensive problems that Sykes and Citron create for Seattle have wrecked the Storm’s offensive flow. It’s been the key to Washington’s wins against Seattle. They’ve held the Storm to under 70 points in the first game and under 60 points in this most recent contest on Saturday. In both games, Seattle shot below 37%.

After the game, I spoke with Nneka Ogwumike and Coach Noelle Quinn about the problems that the Mystics present, and specifically how Citron and Sykes were able to disrupt the Storm’s offense.

Ogwumike said, “I mean, those are two all-stars. So being able to understand that coming into the game, you know, they have length, they have athleticism, they have skill. So I think maybe even perhaps in my own way, trying to figure out how I can help Gabby and Sky. I know that they have a huge responsibility and trying to get things going for themselves, trying to get things going for other people, and also keeping us organized, but ensuring that the three of us can find our flow in the game. It can be the balance can be different every night, but ensuring that we can all keep that aggressive mentality is something that our team needs.”

Quinn responded, “Yeah, they are very physical. They're in passing lanes. A lot of our offense was initiated outside of the scrimmage area. You know, we talked about ways to combat that a little bit. Just weren't really finding the spots to execute that. And then, you know, they rotate big to big. So, again, everything kind of looks congested in the paint. The corner threes were open. That's what they give up. They're boxes and elbows when you're in the middle of the floor. And so when we're not able to, you know, be efficient from the outside, it hurts us. But I think their physicality and their athleticism and taking us out of stuff really impacts how we run our offense.”

Good Losses?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. If the Storm are going to lose games this year. There are two teams above all others that can really help the organization out. If Seattle loses to the Washington Mystics or the Golden State Valkyries, it is easy to find the glass-half-full moment from those outcomes.

If the Storm aren’t going to win the Championship this season, the next best thing that can happen is that the Los Angeles Sparks miss the playoffs. Things looked great for Seattle in that regard up until around two weeks ago. LA sat near the very bottom of the standings in the WNBA with a 6-14 record.

However, some things are starting to click in Southern California. After the Sparks surprisingly went into New York and beat the Liberty on Saturday (101-99) on a last-second circus shot by Rickea Jackson, the Sparks have now won five games in a row, improving their record to 11-14.

Some of that is favorable scheduling, where they won two games each against the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics, but their win on the road at New York was extremely impressive. Also, that same Mystics team has beaten Seattle twice in two attempts, and the Sparks beat them by 19 points in the first game and seven points in the second game.

And we can make excuses for the Liberty. They just faced the Phoenix Mercury on Friday and then had to play a fresh LA team on the second day of a back-to-back. And more importantly, and more concerning for New York, Breanna Stewart suffered a lower leg injury in the first quarter and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Stewart has torn both of her Achilles tendons in the past while playing for Seattle. For the Liberty, hopefully this injury isn’t something that severe. That would send a shockwave throughout the league, even if New York is about to add Emma Meesseman within the next couple of weeks.

No matter how you slice it, LA is figuring things out. Even before their five-game win streak, they had picked up two quality wins over the Indiana Fever. Los Angeles is 7-3 over their last 10 games. The only team with a better record over that many games is the #1 seed Minnesota Lynx, who have gone 8-2 over their last 10. Oh yeah, Cameron Brink was medically cleared to return and should be joining Los Angeles on the court very soon.

With the Mystics’ win over Seattle, they improved to 12-12 on the season. They’re currently 7th in the WNBA standings, with Las Vegas (12-13) in the 8th spot, and Golden State (11-12) as the current 9th seed. Los Angeles is just one game out of the playoffs currently, but will need to pass the Valkyries and one of the Aces/Mystics to reach the playoffs. Every loss for the Sparks is crucial to the Storm.

More Thoughts on Malonga

This game was another positive example of Dominique Malonga’s potential. I think it was also an excellent demonstration of why the Storm selected Malonga over fellow rookie Kiki Iriafen.

As I wrote on social media, that’s not even to say that Iriafen had a bad game or didn’t contribute. Far from it. She finished with seven points on 3-9 FG shooting and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes. Malonga put up similar numbers of eight points (3-4 FG) and nine rebounds. She also had two steals and two blocked shots. Dominique played around half the amount of time in the game (14 minutes total).

I’ve already seen it enough times to know how much she can impact the game. And this is her rookie year, where she is only 19 years old, living in a foreign country away from her family, her first time in America, and her first time playing against the best players in the world. She’s not even playing anywhere near starter’s minutes, but Malonga is still having a major impact in games once she gets going.

Now, foul trouble and conditioning are the next two steps in Malonga’s evolution. She picked up three personal fouls in four minutes during the first half and was forced to sit. She could have played more and had a larger impact on the game if she had been able to stay out of foul trouble.

Coach Quinn talked about Malonga after the game.

“I thought that unit gave us what we needed in that moment. We just talked about kind of chipping away. I thought Dom gave great minutes running the floor hard and really rebounding well. She gave us a lift, and she was the offense that we needed within that group. And I thought that they fought hard, you know, to hold the 6-9, a 9-point quarter. That was indicative of the defense picking up a little bit and getting stops. Try to capitalize off those stops. I thought there was good energy. And for them to be able to fight hard like they did, it was a great effort.”

Coach Quinn was asked why she didn’t leave the bench in to finish the game. She went on to say, “Yeah, they were gassed. E (Wheeler) was gassed. Dom was gassed. And at the end of the day, hindsight is 20-20, right? If the decision went the opposite way, you would be telling me I did a great job. Today it didn't. I just thought that even though that unit were getting stops, we couldn't hit shots. And when you're in some fatigue and setting in, you're not used to playing, not even starters play eight, ten consecutive minutes. It starts to wear on you when you're trying to utilize a lot of energy. to make a comeback. It was a decision for me to roll with our all-stars, our starters, if they can connect and hit some shots. And ultimately, we couldn’t.”

Quinn shared more thoughts on Malonga after the game.

“Her number one role, one of her roles, is to bring the sauce or the energy. And I think that she's really finding ways to do that on the court. And she's going to continue to be our big sub, whether it's for Nneka or Ezi. I think, you know, in her minutes, she's been super productive. Now it's about kind of keeping her out of foul trouble and finding some pockets of time where she's not getting so gassed because she plays so hard. But yeah, definitely looking to lean toward having her continue to do the things that she's doing at a high level to give us a lift from the bench for sure.”

Dom played 10 consecutive minutes in the 2nd half, from the last four minutes of the third period and the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. But she was definitely tired and needed a breather.

While it’s true that even starters rarely play 10 straight minutes. The Storm and Dom will have to prepare and condition her to eventually be able to play 30-35 minutes. Even if that isn’t happening this season. Which leads me to another thought about Malonga.

Can the Storm Afford to Keep Her Out of the Starting Lineup in 2026?

No matter what happens the rest of this season, the Storm ownership group, front office, and coaching staff will have to make some interesting decisions for the 2026 season. The question I have right now is, can Seattle afford to keep Dominique Malonga in this role next year, where she is playing 5-15 minutes off the bench behind Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor?

Ogwumike and Magbegor will both be Unrestricted Free Agents in the offseason. There is always a chance that either of them chooses to sign with a different team. But if they are both returning to Seattle, what does that mean for Malonga? Up to this point, there hasn’t been any interest or consideration to play all three at the same time. And I think that’s understandable. Right now, Quinn basically uses Malonga and Alysha Clark as the backup post players. With Dom being the primary if Ogwumike or Magbegor need a rest or get into early foul trouble.

I can’t picture Dom replacing either Nneka or Ezi in the starting lineup. They could consider replacing Ezi, but Magbegor is a significantly better defender right now. She’s the team’s defensive anchor. And if they did something like that this season, it might impact Magbegor’s interest in re-signing with the team next season.

When considering the franchise long-term, I would argue that Ezi is more important than Nneka. We have to remember that despite playing in her 6th WNBA season, Ezi Magbegor is only 25 years old. She could easily have another 7-10 years with the Storm. Ogwumike is 35.

The direction of the franchise likely comes down to a few things. Most notably, how do they finish out this season? Do they make the playoffs? Do they advance past the first round? Do they advance to or even win the WNBA Finals? If they get past the first round, I think it’s a relatively easy decision to continue to build upon the current core group. How much better would this team be if it had Jordan Horston and Katie Lou Samuelson on it? How much better would this core group be if they added Jordan Horston and a couple of impact first-round picks?

I think if the Storm were to miss the playoffs somehow or get swept in the first round again, the franchise needs to decide on if it would be better to go with a coaching change, or go into a full rebuild where they move on from both Nneka and Skylar, and look to build around their younger pieces Malonga, Magbegor, Horston, and Williams. Plus their upcoming draft picks.

Because Dominique Malonga is 19 years old and will only be 20 years old during the 2026 WNBA season, they probably can afford to slow-play her development with another season similar to this one. I don’t know if that’ll make fans happy. I don’t know if that’s the best thing for Dom’s development. But we also have to acknowledge that this current coaching staff has developed both Ezi Magbegor and Gabby Williams into WNBA All-Stars over the past few years. Even if the development process seems like it’s taking longer than fans want, it doesn’t mean the process is wrong.

What do you see happening? What are your expectations for Malonga in 2026?

Are the Storm a Fun Team?

This is more of a question to the reader. To all the Storm Crazies and fans out there that read these articles. Watching this team play, do you feel like they are a fun team to watch? If you watch a lot of other WNBA teams, like if you have WNBA League Pass, or watch the Amazon Prime or ION games every week. Are there other teams that are more enjoyable to watch for you?

Despite losing three of their last five games, the Storm still have one of the better records in the league. They’ve been hovering around that 4th or 5th seed all season long, which is certainly better than more than half the 13-team league. They aren’t elite, but they are one of only five teams to be multiple games above a .500 record.

If you think they’re an enjoyable team to watch, let me know why. And if they aren’t very fun to watch, let me know why you feel that way.

Post-Game Press Conference

If you prefer the audio versions, I’ve posted them below.

Player Interviews

Coach’s Quotes

Notes:
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Photo Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography

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