Storm Defeat Sun 79-65 Part 2

Additional thoughts, quotes, and discussion from Seattle's win over Connecticut

The Seattle Storm avoided disaster as they outlasted the Connecticut Sun for a 79-65 victory. It was Coach Noelle Quinn’s 50th double-digit win of her career. Seattle got their revenge after falling to the 3-17 Connecticut Sun just two days prior. The Storm used a big 4th quarter to pull away and win the game. If you missed it previously, you can read the full game recap here.

In Part 2, I wrote about the importance of earning this type of gutsy win, the first impressions of Tiffany Mitchell, and included some interview quotes. Plus, the post-game press conference video and audio versions.

Grind-It-Out

It took around 34 minutes, but the Seattle Storm finally broke out of their tightly contested contest with the Connecticut Sun. There would be no repeat of Wednesday’s mishap. The better team won the game this time. But that doesn’t mean it was easy.

To the Connecticut Sun’s credit, they punched Seattle right in the mouth (almost literally). They gave the Storm a tough challenge. They hustled, rebounded, and drew a lot of fouls. Defensively, they held Seattle to just 10 points in the opening frame. They also slowed the game down a lot. As evidenced by the fact that the two teams combined for just 10 fast break points. It was honestly a smart strategy by Coach Rachid Meziane.

When you have a less talented team, you have to muck it up. You need to make the game ugly. Slow it down, get the refs involved, and limit possessions. The more possessions Seattle had, the higher the chance they’d come away with the victory. For nearly 35 minutes, that strategy was working.

To Seattle’s credit, they fixed a lot of their issues from the previous game. They gave up 27 points and were outscored by 18 points in the 4th quarter during Wednesday’s disappointing loss. On Friday night, they outscored Connecticut by 11 points in the final quarter (24-13). Defensively, they held the Sun to their lowest point total in that final frame. They kept their composure and finished the game on a 19-5 run.

In a lot of ways, I believe this was a better result than if Seattle had just crushed Connecticut by 25-30 points. Sure, that would have made things less stressful. And it would have allowed Coach Quinn to play Dominique Malonga, Zia Cooke, and Mackenzie Holmes. And maybe you’d feel better because Championship-type teams crush opponents like the Connecticut Sun. It’s painful, but do you remember what the Las Vegas Aces did to the Storm in 2023? 105-64. 96-63. 79-63. 103-77.

Seattle didn’t dominate Connecticut. No, it was gut-check time. They had to dig deep and grind out the victory. They didn’t allow the negative thoughts or experiences from the last game to cause them to falter. This type of win is important for teams because not everything is supposed to be easy. Even when “on paper” it should be. This type of win builds character. And it is likely to benefit the Storm just as much, if not more than a blowout win, when it’s playoff time and things get tight. They can fall back on games like this to help them get through the tough moments that will undoubtedly occur ahead.

After the game, I had the opportunity to speak with both Nneka Ogwumike and Coach Noelle Quinn about this topic.

Ogwumike told me, “Well, first and foremost, I never disrespect anybody in this league. I've been playing for 14 years now, and everybody here is a pro. It doesn't matter what you may think about a team. They're going to come and play. A game has got to get played. And so I'm glad that we were able to get another great competitive game. I think that we needed this type of game. You know, as you kind of alluded to, we needed to be able to grind things out. We needed to be able...to keep getting stops, even if the shots aren't going in. But I think we also need to understand what a good play is. We need to understand when good shots are happening. We need to understand when we get a stop, how to capitalize on that type of stop. I think that we have a lot of growth areas in that. But we were able to get a gritty win today that is going to make us better in the long run.”

Coach Quinn added, “Yeah, there's no pride in knowing that on any given night, any team could win in this league, no matter what records indicate. And just the other night, you know, I felt like we didn't get over the hump when we were supposed to or within that game. And then today I felt like we did. So I think the reps, no matter who the opponent, they matter, that they're going to pay dividends in the long run because we're getting these crucial reps that imitate, emulate, or could be similar to a playoff (game) or getting into a playoff or postseason. So I think it is important, you know, this team hasn't played together very long. You know, we have a new group, and to get confidence within those moments and continue to build from those moments are definitely important.”

Quinn was asked a follow-up question about the importance of getting through a tough, physical game, with tempers flaring up, and being able to stay composed and come out on top.

“Yes, very important because basketball is a physical game. We want to have control. We want to make sure that the referees are doing their job, and we as pros and basketball players, and coaches are doing our job as well. It's just having mental strength and fortitude, not just physically, but mentally, to understand moments and not have things impact us negatively. And I thought that we were, we took those moments, and it impacted us positively. I thought we stayed together in those moments, and I thought we really handled ourselves with a lot of dignity and maturity and really showcased some professionalism in those moments. Physicality is going to happen. We don't want dirty plays to happen within our game, so there's some control that needs to be there. But at the end of the day, I don't think we're going to shy away or back down from that.” Quinn stated.

Tiffany Mitchell

The Storm just signed Tiffany Mitchell a couple of days ago, and she was already able to make a positive impact in her first game. She had modest stats of five points, three rebounds, and four fouls in nearly 20 minutes of game action. But I felt her mark on the game was more positive than that. I also feel like she might have been slighted at least one offensive rebound. She was very active with her hustle plays, which really stood out to me.

It was like a breath of fresh air. We’ve seen far too often this season, the opposing players make all of the hustle plays, winning the 50-50 battles. It was nice to see the Storm be the beneficiary of those on Friday night. It’s also a lesson to all players out there. Energy and effort are two things every player can directly control anytime they get out on the court. And when they make the type of plays that Tiffany Mitchell made for the Storm, it is often rewarded with more minutes, more playing time.

Speaking of that, Mitchell surprisingly played just a hair under 20 minutes in her first game after just joining the squad a couple of days ago. That was by far the most minutes of any Seattle bench player.

I think those minutes are going to be there for Mitchell if she can continue to produce even a little bit and make those hustle plays. With Erica Wheeler moving to the starting lineup, Katie Lou Samuelson being out for the season, and Lexie Brown having to miss multiple games, there is a need for another scorer off the bench.

Coach Quinn was asked about Mitchell’s production after the game.

“She's a vet, she's been in a lot of games herself, and what I like most is her physicality defensively, she can defend on ball off ball, you guys saw she could get downhill, she can create for others, and also she's very cerebral, though she's been here a short time she's picked up our things immediately and from timeouts, drops on the board, to having had two sessions to prep for this game, she picked it up and it's a seamless transition. A, because she plays hard, B, because of the physical nature of how she can play. We need that, especially on the defensive end.” Quinn said.

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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