Storm Earn First Win Over the Connecticut Sun

Lexie Brown's explosive third quarter turned the tide.

(Uncasville, Connecticut) - As the final seconds wound down, Seattle collected an offensive rebound and dribbled out the remainder of the clock. Flau’jae Johnson, bursting with joy, was hopping up and down and gave Jade Melbourne a big hug. As the clock struck zero, the new-look Seattle Storm (1-1) picked up their first win of the WNBA season, defeating the Connecticut Sun 89-82.

Seattle controlled most of the game, but Connecticut kept it close throughout. Neither team led by double-digits in this one. Seattle led by five points after the first period, but a 19-6 run to end the first half put the Sun up 49-44 at the midway point. The game’s tide turned in the third period when Lexie Brown came off the bench and knocked down four three-pointers in four consecutive possessions. The Storm went from being down three points to up nine as Brown caught fire. It was an impressive performance after Lexie finished the first game with zero points and a team-high four turnovers. She spoke after the game that the team continued to believe in her and encouraged her to keep shooting.

“Just the confidence that my teammates have given me. I didn’t score last game, and I really didn’t shoot the ball at all. I think I gave up some open shots last game, and the last 2 days, my teammates have just been telling me that I need to shoot the ball. So just having that confidence entering this game, and we were down a little bit, and I just felt like we needed a little pick-me-up. So I decided to, you know, shoot the ball. My team did a great job of finding me when I was open and, yeah, just a lot of momentum in that moment.” Brown said.

Brown led the team in scoring with 17 points on 6-7 FG shooting, including 5-6 FG from beyond the arc. She was one of four Storm players to score in double figures. Flau’jae Johnson led all starters with 16 points. She also had six rebounds (2nd on the team) and three steals (1st). Flau’jae was very pleased with herself in the post-game press conference when talking about the team’s defense and how she led the team in steals.

Jade Melbourne had another impressive performance, scoring 15 points off the bench and getting to the foul line for 11 free throws. Melbourne led the team with six assists and just one turnover in the game. She took another beating in this game. After chipping her tooth in the home opener, Melbourne got a busted bloody lip in this game, a large scratch/burn on her collar bone, and a bloody scraped knee. Flau’jae called her a dawg, complimenting Melbourne’s toughness.

Natisha Hiedeman also played well. She finished with 11 points on 5-10 FG shooting and three assists. Dominique Malonga was limited to just 20 minutes in this game after picking up three personal fouls early in the first half and a fourth foul midway through the third period. When she was out on the court, she made a major impact. She finished with a game-high +15 in plus/minus. Dom impacted both ends with six points, seven rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.

Seattle outshot Connecticut 44% (27-61 FG) to 40% (29-73 FG). They were even better from beyond the arc (46% to 35%). The Storm dominated the defensive stats. They had a 10-7 edge in steals and an 8-3 advantage in blocked shots. They also dominated fast break points (19-7) and bench points (46-33). Seattle was +9 at the free throw line (25-16) and made 76% (25-33 FT) of their foul shots.

Connecticut Sun

Aneesah Morrow was very impressive off the bench for Connecticut. She finished with the game’s only double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds. She also knocked down 3-6 FG from beyond the arc with a few really smooth outside jumpers. I spoke with Flau’jae after the game about Morrow’s performance and what it meant for LSU for both of them to have a big impact.

“I’m just excited to see her flourish because she was really underrated, especially in college. They said she’s undersized and couldn’t play, but she could play. She could shoot that thing. I’m so proud of her, all the work she put in. She’s humble. And it just shows like, y’all say what y’all want (about) LSU. Coach Mulkey, like, Mulkey made pros, you know what I’m saying? Pros. We're all doing our thing in the W. Shout out BG (Griner) was on the court too. So it was definitely a Mulkey little reunion, but it was beautiful. Just seeing her out there flourish. I loved it.” Johnson told me.

Veteran Brittney Griner finished with 16 points on 6-11 FG and six rebounds. Diamond Miller (13 points) and Kennedy Burke (12 points) were the other two Sun players to score in double figures. Burke also finished with six rebounds, a team-high five assists, and two blocks.

The Sun outrebounded the Storm 41-32. They had the edge in offensive rebounds (10-7) and dominated in second-chance points (17-5). Connecticut had more assists (18-14) and points in the paint (40-34).

Game Breakdown

Jordan Horston hit a dribble stepback for the game’s first bucket. Brittney Griner got an offensive rebound putback. Natisha Hiedeman knocked down a jumper coming off a Stefanie Dolson screen. Kennedy Burke was fouled and split the free throws. Hiedeman scored a floater in the lane. Horston got a block and then got ahead of the defense as Flau’jae found her running the floor ahead. Diamond Miller was forced to foul. Horston made both free throws to put Seattle ahead 8-3.

Flau’jae knocked down a three-pointer, but it was immediately countered by Diamond Miller. That started a 7-0 run by Connecticut to tie the game at 11-11. Charlisse Leger-Walker got to the rim for two. Saniya Rivers hit a midrange jumper to pull even with Seattle. Mackenzie Holmes entered the game after Dominique Malonga picked up two fouls early in the first period. Holmes collected four rebounds in her first couple of minutes. One that led to an extra possession for Seattle, where Flau’jae got to the rim for two. Johnson got to the rim again to put the Storm ahead 15-11. Connecticut went to Old Faithful, and Griner scored in the paint.

Jade Melbourne checked in and immediately got to the rim. Lexie Brown knocked down an open three. Diamond Miller scored again in the low post. Zia Cooke and Stef Dolson added more points from the foul line. Aneesah Morrow subbed in and immediately hit a three. Morrow also got a deflection steal that led to a fast break layup. Seattle finished the first quarter on a 4-0 run. Melbourne found Cooke in the corner for an open three. Jade was fouled on the final possession and split the two. The Storm led 29-24 at the end of the first.

Grace VanSlooten made some nice plays early in the 2nd quarter. She helped get a steal with a trap. Jordan then found her under the rim for an open two. VanSlooten also made an excellent hustle offensive rebound, rushing past multiple Sun players. Grace hit a corner three as well.

Morrow continued her strong play off the bench for Connecticut, knocking down another three-pointer and then sinking a floating hook shot in the paint. Dolson snagged an offensive rebound and put it back in. That put the Storm ahead 38-30 early in the second quarter. Leger-Walker was fouled on a drive and made both free throws. Flau’jae found Mackenzie Holmes rolling to the rim for two. The Sun made another run, cutting Seattle’s lead from eight down to two. Gianna Kneepkens, Hailey Van Lith, and Aneesah Morrow all scored as the Sun went on a 6-0 run. That forced Coach Sonia Raman to call a timeout.

Flau’jae made two from the foul line. Connecticut took the lead on a Kennedy Burke triple. With Seattle’s posts in foul trouble, Griner went to work. The Sun finished the second period on a 19-6 run after trailing by eight points. They led 49-44 at the midway point. Aneesah Morrow led the way with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Flau’jae Johson led the Storm with 11 points and five rebounds.

The Storm went eight minutes without a field goal between the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third period. Seattle had several good looks early in transition to open the third, but couldn’t convert. Natisha Hiedeman finally got one down. She scored again to cut the Storm’s deficit to one. Diamond Miller knocked down a three-pointer. Flau’jae was fouled and made both free throws. Dolson picked up her 5th foul and had to sit. BG scored again down low.

Lexie Brown knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give the Storm the lead at 57-54. After a timeout, Brown continued to heat up, knocking down two more shots from beyond the arc. Lexie went on a personal 12-0 run by herself. That pushed the Storm’s lead to nine at 63-54.

Hailey Van Lith ended the run by powering to the rim. Van Lith then knocked down a three after a Seattle turnover. Olivia Nelson-Ododa got to the rim for two as the Sun ended the quarter on a 7-0 run. Seattle led Connecticut 63-61 at the end of the third period.

Kennedy Burke tied the game on a reverse layup to begin the 4th quarter. Dominique Malonga was fouled and made both free throws, her first points of the game. Both teams went back and forth. Nelson-Ododa scored in the paint. Mackenzie Holmes knocked down a corner three, but Morrow immediately answered with a triple of her own. Jade hit a corner three, but Morrow scored again, driving down the lane. Melbourne got an AND1 and a bloody lip with it.

Diamond Miller cut the Storm’s lead down to two from the foul line. Malonga got a steal and a fast break layup. Brown found Malonga for the midrange jumper. Leger-Walker hit a pull-up. Hiedeman got to the rim for two, but Kennedy Burke answered with a three to cut the Storm’s lead down to one at 80-79.

Lexie was able to get to the rim for a layup. Seattle pushed their lead to seven, getting points at the foul line from Hiedeman, Dolson, and Johnson. The Storm’s defense held strong in the final minute, and Seattle picked up their first win of the season, 89-82.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (1-1) play two more games on the road before returning home for a rematch against this same Connecticut Sun (0-2) team. Next up is Seattle’s first trip across the border to Canada to face the Toronto Tempo (0-1) expansion franchise on Wednesday, May 13th at 4:00 PM PT.

Notes:
Part 2 will be sent exclusively to paid subscribers later on.
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Photography Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography
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