Poor 3rd Quarter Dooms Storm in 88-68 Loss

Minnesota outscored Seattle 26-10 in the third period.

(Minneapolis, Minnesota) - A hot start in the opening frame by the Seattle Storm (3-9) would not last as the Minnesota Lynx (9-2) rallied from down 12 to ahead by 21. After taking a 24-16 lead into the 2nd quarter, Seattle was outscored 55-29 over the 2nd and 3rd periods. A 26-10 third period turned a hotly contested game into another blowout loss for the Storm. At the final buzzer, the Lynx cruised to an 88-68 victory. It was Seattle’s 5th loss in a row.

Natisha Hiedeman and Jade Melbourne led Seattle with 14 points each. Hiedeman also led the team with five assists. Rookie Flau’jae Johnson added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.

Seattle started the game shooting lights out 53% (9-17 FG) overall and 55% (6-11 FG) from beyond the arc in the opening frame. They shot 50% from three-point range through the first two quarters (9-18 FG), which kept them close, despite giving up 29 points in the second quarter. Their shooting cooled off significantly in the 2nd half as they finished the game averaging 35% (22-63 FG) overall, and 31% (11-36 FG) from the 3-PT line. The Storm made just 2-18 FG from long range in the 2nd half.

Turnovers were a major story of the game. The Storm committed 23 turnovers compared to just 14 for the Lynx. Minnesota outscored them 25-14 with points off turnovers. I spoke with Jade Melbourne and Coach Raman about the turnovers after the game.

Melbourne said, “We’re 12 games in, so we definitely should be doing a better job, but definitely settling into our stuff a bit better, and then just knowing where each other are. It’s no excuse for not knowing where players are going to be, knowing what spots we’re meant to be in right now. So just making sure we tighten those things up, maybe try not to throw home run passes. I know I can do that sometimes, and instead make the easy one, that hockey assist pass. But yeah, we’ll clean that up. We know it’s a point of emphasis. (Can’t) allow teams to have that many points off turnovers. So we’ve got to do a better job of that.”

While Raman added, “I think there’s just some growing pains with a young team and a team that hasn’t really played together before, a lot of players who haven’t played together before. We’re certainly tracking on that and want to take care of the ball. And it’s a focal point for us. I think there are a few things that we can clean up that are more tactical, and then some of it, like you said, is just chemistry and just kind of growing together, you know, and that’s going to be part of our process.”

Minnesota Lynx

Former Seattle Storm great Natasha Howard led all scorers with 27 points. She was highly efficient, connecting on 12-16 FG. She also added five rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.

Howard was one of four Lynx players to score in double figures. Rookie Olivia Miles continued to dazzle WNBA audiences. She finished with 19 points on 9-14 FG, six assists, and six rebounds. While Howard led the team in scoring, Miles was arguably the team’s best player as she assisted on several of Howard’s easy looks, placing perfect passes to give Natasha wide-open layups.

Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams each added 11 points in this game. McBride didn’t have a great shooting game (3-12 FG), but knocked down a couple of big three-pointers. Williams had a game-high seven assists and collected five rebounds.

Minnesota outshot Seattle 48% (37-77 FG) to 35% (22-63 FG). They had a sizeable advantage in assists (27-16), steals (13-7), blocks (4-1), and fast break points (11-6). None more than their surprising dominance inside the paint, where they outscored the Storm 50 to 20.

Game Breakdown

Stefanie Dolson knocked down an open three with a feed from Awa Fam. Then Flau’jae Johnson made a three-pointer to quickly put Seattle ahead 6-0. Olivia Miles was able to drive past the defense for a pair of layups. Dolson hit another triple, and Jordan Horston drilled a corner three as Seattle went up by eight at 12-4.

Courtney Williams scored for Minnesota. Horston scored on a cherry-pick play. The two teams swapped three-pointers by Maya Caldwell and Johnson. Another nice drive to the rim by Flau’jae put Seattle ahead 19-9.

Dominique Malonga made a dribble pull-up. Kayla McBride was fouled on a three-pointer by Zia Cooke and knocked down all three foul shots. Cooke answered immediately with a three on the other end. McBride found Natasha Howard under the rim for the easy two. Olivia Miles hit a dribble stepback jumper to cut into Seattle’s lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Storm led the Lynx 24-16.

Natasha Howard was fouled to open the second and added two more. Horston collected an offensive rebound that led to another triple by Hiedeman. Minnesota continued its push, as McBride added a three, and Howard got another easy score in the paint. That cut Seattle’s lead to four, forcing Coach Sonia Raman to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Storm turned the ball over, and Howard scored easily. Olivia Miles tied the game with a left-handed drive to the rim, capping off a 9-0 Lynx run.

Hiedeman finally stopped the bleeding with a three, but Courtney Williams immediately responded with one on the other end. Awa Fam added a three as Seattle’s hot-shooting continued. The Lynx continued to strike back. Williams added a couple of more jumpers. Howard scored again with a nice little hook. Dominique Malonga added a score down low. Hiedeman added three from the line.

Coffey added another triple. Minnesota pushed its lead to five with baskets from Howard and Miles. Jade Melbourne scored five late in the 2nd quarter, including an And-1. The Lynx led 45-43 at the end of the first half. Both teams shot 44% from the floor in the opening half. The home team made three more field goals, but Seattle more than doubled the Lynx from the arc (50% to 25% and 9 to 4).

Seattle opened up the third quarter with multiple turnovers. Minnesota’s offense was humming as they scored seven straight in the first two minutes of the 2nd half, which led to another timeout by Coach Raman. The Storm still weren’t able to get their offense going, and Maya Caldwell added another three for the Lynx.

The road team continued to struggle, scoring just three points through the first five minutes of the period. The home team, not so much, which allowed Minnesota to go ahead by 15. Miles continued to delight with incredible passes and occasional threes. Her passing ability in Cheryl Reeve’s system is a deadly combination.

The Lynx outscored the Storm 26-10 in the third period. Minnesota committed just one turnover while Seattle had six. The home team led 71-53 through the first 30 minutes.

Teaira McCowan scored under the rim. Melbourne connected on a three-pointer. Anastassia Kosu muscled her way to the rim for two. Hiedeman, Horston, and Fam led Seattle on a quick 6-0 run to force Coach Cheryl Reeve to call a timeout after Seattle cut Minnesota’s 19-point lead down to 13.

Out of the timeout, the Lynx quickly scored seven straight to kill any possible rally from the Storm. That ballooned Minnesota’s lead up to 20. Seattle got late points from Melbourne and Malonga, but never enough to cut into Minnesota’s large lead. They were outscored 17-15 in the 4th, as the Lynx won the game 88-68.

Final Box Score

Part 2

Part 2 will include additional commentary, analysis, and interviews. It will be sent to paid subscribers tomorrow.

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (3-9) will head to Las Vegas to face the Aces (7-3) on Monday, 6/8 at 7:00 PM PT.

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