Storm Collapse in 2nd half, Lose 87-63

The Dallas Wings outscored Seattle 53-27 in the 2nd half.

(Seattle, WA) - It was a complete collapse by the Seattle Storm in their return from the All-Star break. Things didn’t start that way, though. The team was without starting Point Guard Skylar Diggins, who was a late scratch from the game and wasn’t with the team due to personal reasons. That didn’t seem to affect the Storm early on as they led 8-0 to begin the game. Their defense forced Dallas into several early-game turnovers. Seattle controlled the game throughout most of the first half. They led 36-26 with around one minute left to go in the second quarter. Dallas used a 17-0 run between the end of the second and the beginning of the third period to completely change the course of the game. The Wings then outscored Seattle by 26 points in the 2nd half. The train went completely off the tracks for the Storm, and they were never able to recover.

Nneka Ogwumike led the Storm with 22 points on 10-19 FG. Unfortunately, this was the first game this season that the Storm lost with Ogwumike scoring 20 points or more. They were 9-0 previously when that happened. Gabby Williams added 14 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and four steals. Ezi Magbegor finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Several other players had opportunities to make a larger impact, but they weren’t able to. Tiffany Mitchell scored two points on 1-6 FG in nearly 29 minutes. Erica Wheeler went 2-11 on her shots. Lexie Brown connected on 1-6 FG in 20 minutes off the bench. Even Dominique Malonga seemed snake-bitten as she missed all six of her shots, with a few of them rimming in and out.

Seattle was outshot by the Dallas Wings 45% (32-71 FG) to 31% (23-75 FG). They were also badly out-rebounded 48-34.

Dallas Wings

Arike Ogunbowale unlocked her stroke as she got into one of her crazy shooting rhythms after a few missed shots. Once she saw a few go in, she became the unstoppable Arike. She finished with a team-high 20 points on 7-12 FG shooting, including 4-6 FG from beyond the arc.

Luisa Geiselsöder finished with 13 points and made 3-5 FG from beyond the arc. She did a great job of keeping Dallas in the game early on as she scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half. Li Yueru finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. Paige Bueckers added 14 points and tied for the team-high with six assists. Haley Jones also had 10 points, six rebounds, and six assists (more on her in Part 2).

Not only did Dallas outshoot and out-rebound Seattle, but they also outscored the Storm 40-34 inside the paint. They outscored them 21-15 in fast break points. They had an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points, despite having just three more offensive rebounds.

Dallas outplayed and outcoached Seattle in this game.

Game Breakdown

The Storm forced a 24-second shot clock violation on their first defensive possession. Gabby Williams found Nneka Ogwumike cutting to the rim for the game’s first basket. Ezi Magbegor and Gabby were fouled and made all four of their free throws. Williams found Ogwumike again for a midrange jumper. Seattle’s defense forced Dallas into six turnovers in the first three and a half minutes. With Seattle leading 8-0, Coach Chris Koclanes was forced to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Wings set up a nice play to get Arike driving to the rim. That was the start of a 12-6 run by the Wings. That cut the Storm’s lead down to two at 14-12. Aziaha James scored in the paint. Li Yueru hit a three on the wing. Haley Jones scored on a layup.

Seattle regrouped with five quick points, a three-ball from Williams, and a layup in transition by Lexie Brown. Luisa Geiselsöder knocked in a corner three. The Storm led 19-15 at the end of the first.

Teaira McCowan made a midrange jumper. Gabby answered with an AND1 a couple of plays later. Haley Jones had another impressive block and then scored at the rim on the other end. Nneka Ogwumike made back-to-back baskets. Then Ezi Magbegor scored. Geiselsöder hit another three-pointer. Ogwumike and Wheeler each hit midrange jumpers to put the Storm ahead by 10 at 32-22.

After a couple of baskets by the Wings, the Storm responded with a fast break by Zia Cooke and another layup by Magbegor. That put Seattle ahead 36-26 with around 90 seconds left in the first half. Unfortunately, the Storm gave up an 8-0 Run to end the first half. That was capped off by a circus three-pointer by Arike Ogunbowale with 0.02 seconds left on the clock. The Storm led the Wings 36-34 at the midway point. Ogwumike led Seattle with 12 points. Luisa Geiselsöder led the Wings with 11 points.

Dallas picked up right where they left off in the first half. They started the third period on a 9-0 run (17-0 run in totality) before Ezi Magbegor was fouled and made both free throws. The Wings extended their lead to 10 points on an Ogwunbowale three-pointer. That momentum continued as Ogwubowale continued to hit shots, and that built confidence for all of her teammates. The Wings extended their lead to 14 points on a JJ Quinerly AND1.

There was a wild incident between Nneka Ogwumike and Luisa Geiselsöder. Geiselsöder gave her an elbow that knocked Ogwumike to the floor. She was then boxing out Ogwumike, and their arms got tangled. Nneka threw her to the floor and then yelled at her while Geiselsöder remained on the ground. After the play was reviewed, Ogwumike was tagged with a Flagrant foul, and both players were given Technical Fouls.

Dallas outscored Seattle 32-15 in the third period. The train went off the tracks after Seattle gave up a 17-0 run between the second and third periods. The Storm’s offense and defense were completely out of sync. The Wings led 66-51 at the end of the third.

They extended their lead to 19 points in the 4th quarter on a Li Yueru three-pointer. Around the midway point of the quarter, Coach Quinn smartly removed her starters from the game. Zia Cooke hit a three-pointer and scored five points in the quarter, but that was about it. Seattle scored just 12 points total and was outscored 21-12 over the final 10 minutes. The Wings defeated the Storm 87-63.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Storm (14-10) head to Chicago to face the Sky (7-16) for the very first time this season. They play on Thursday, July 24th at 5:30 PM. Hopefully, Skylar Diggins will be back with the team by then, but we’ll know more later.

Part 2

Part 2 will include additional thoughts and discussion from Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Wings. It’ll be sent exclusively to paid subscribers tomorrow morning.

Notes:
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