Storm Finally Beat Valkyries 67-58
Seattle's defense held Golden State to a season-low in points.
*Quick Disclaimer: Since this game was scheduled during the middle of a workday, I was not able to cover the game live or in person. I also have other obligations this evening, so the game recap will be shorter than my standard.
(Seattle, WA) - The Seattle Storm (14-9) managed to figure out a way to beat the Golden State Valkyries (10-12) for the first time in franchise history. Their defense was stingy and did a good job of limiting the Valkyries compared to the first two matchups. Seattle held them to a season (and franchise) low of 58 points. Despite both teams struggling to score, the Storm outscored the Valkyries 36-27 in the 2nd half. They won the game 67-58.
Seattle had three players score in double figures. Nneka Ogwumike led the team with 22 points and eight rebounds. The team remains undefeated when Ogwumike scores 20 points or more. They are now 9-0 when Nneka reaches that mark. Erica Wheeler scored 15 points, and Skylar Diggins added 10 points and a team-high six assists in the victory.
The home team outshot Golden State, but both teams struggled. The Storm shot 33% (21-64 FG) to 32% (19-60 FG). Both teams made seven three-pointers, but shot under 25% from beyond the arc. Seattle was a plus-five from the Free Throw line (18-22 FT to 13-16 FT). Despite losing the rebounding battle overall, 35-33, the Storm outscored the Valkyries 11-0 in second-chance points.
While Seattle’s bench was outscored 28-13, both Lexie Brown and Tiffany Mitchell made solid contributions off the bench. Brown arguably had her best game of the season, knocking down a couple of three-pointers as she scored seven points. Mitchell added six points in her reserve role. Dominique Malonga, Zia Cooke, and Mackenzie Holmes all were a DNP (Did Not Play) - Coach’s Decision.
Golden State Valkyries
Only two players scored in double figures for the Valkyries. Cecilia Zandalasini led the team with 12 points off the bench. Janelle Salaün added 10 points and four rebounds. Veronica Burton contributed with a near-double-double of eight points and eight rebounds. However, she was a game-worst minus 13 in plus/minus.
Golden State had a small advantage in points in the paint, 22-20, but that was a stark difference from the previous games. They outscored Seattle 46-18 inside the paint during their 84-57 win back on June 29th. It was a 46-26 advantage during their 76-70 win over Seattle on June 14th.
Not only were the Storm able to finally figure out how to beat the Valkyries, but they’re not the only ones. After having an impressive 7-4 record in the month of June that resulted in Coach Natalie Nakase winning Coach of the Month, the team has fallen back down to Earth a bit in July. The expansion franchise that nobody expected much of anything from is starting to look more like a traditional expansion team. They’ve lost five out of their last six games and have a 1-5 record in July leading up to the All-Star break. With three losses in a row, they’ve actually dropped out of a playoff spot for the first time in several weeks.
Has the league finally figured them out? Are the Valkyries just regressing to the mean? Did their carriage finally turn back into a pumpkin? Or will they get things corrected and get back into playoff contention after the midseason break?
Game Summary
The Storm jumped out to a 7-2 lead, forcing Coach Natalie Nakase to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Valkyries went on a 10-0 run. That was capped off by back-to-back three-pointers by Carla Leite and Temi Fágbénlé. Seattle responded with their own 7-0 run as Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, and Lexie Brown all hit shots. The Storm briefly regained the lead, but a Ceci Zandalasini three-ball would give the Valkyries a one-point lead at the end of the first (15-14).
Despite poor shooting in the second quarter (35% on 7-20 FG), the Storm outscored Golden State 17-16. Nneka Ogwumike was responsible for seven points. Janelle Salaün led the Valkyries with six points in the quarter. The game was tied 31-31 at halftime
The home team started to create a little separation in the third. It was the Erica Wheeler show in the third quarter. Wheeler scored 11 points in the period, including a pair of three-pointers. The Storm limited the Valkyries to 25% FG shooting (4-16 FG) and held them to 13 points. Seattle outscored them 17-13 and led 48-44 at the end of the third.
The Storm extended their lead to eight points at 54-46 after Lexie Brown hit a corner triple. However, before Seattle had the chance to push their lead to double-digits, the Valkyries knocked down back-to-back three-pointers by Tiffany Hayes and Ceci Zandalasini to cut the deficit to two.
Neither team was able to score for a couple of minutes from around the 5:00 mark of the 4th quarter until around three minutes left in the game. Nneka Ogwumike would not allow Seattle to lose this game. She scored 11 of her 22 points over the final 10 minutes. Ogwumike also scored seven of Seattle’s final 11 points over the last three minutes with the game on the line. The Storm ended the contest on an 11-4 run to pick up their first win against the Golden State Valkyries in franchise history by a final score of 67-58.
Final Box Score
Up Next
The All-Star Break! Seattle has four players headed to All-Star weekend in Indiana. Nneka Ogwumike is headed to her 10th All-Star game, Skylar Diggins her 7th, and Gabby Williams her first All-Star appearance. Erica Wheeler is also joining them as she will participate (along with Diggins) in the All-Star Skills Challenge competition.
Seattle’s next game will be on Tuesday, July 22nd at 7:00 PM at home against the Dallas Wings.
Part 2?
As I mentioned on Social Media, because this game took place during the middle of the workday, I was not able to cover it live. And I have some other previous obligations this evening where I’m not going to have time to write two full articles like I would. I’m including the post-game press conference video below. I did not participate in it and haven’t had the time to listen to it. I might find some time before the team’s next game to write another article or two about the Storm and the league.
Post-Game Press Conference
Notes:
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Photo Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography
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I'm very happy that we finally beat the Valkyries and matched up better with them. I was really pleased seeing a solid performance from Lexie Brown. When she's feeling healthy she can probably be our deadliest weapon off the bench. I was reviewing her career and she's been an excellent 3-point shooter and Free Throw shooter. She could fill the role that Sami previously had with us. Tiffany and Zia can also give us some of that firepower off the bench.
One thing that I seriously disagree with Coach Quinn about is not playing Dom in this game and only playing her 3 minutes in the last game. I think Dominique could have been a difference maker in this game. We needed more power from the low post. Coach has to show Dom that she trusts her to play and contribute to our wins. It's a critical time for us as a team and for Dom as a player and a person. She has to play at least 10 minutes every game, preferably 15-20 minutes if she is going to develop into the threat that she can be for us, like the Mystics rookies have done for them. Noelle Quinn can make or break Dominique Malonga with the way that she handles her. I hope that she understands the role that she needs to play to fully develop this very talented teenager.
Thanks Jeff! Enjoy All-Star break.
Thanks for including the post game interviews. It’s nice to come to one place and not have to scrounge.
It was nice to see our bench production. This was Lexie’s best game and Tiff Mitchell continues to shine. I questioned the lack of using Dom…but Noey spent the entire post session talking about their physicality and then addressed it directly with the question about Dom’s usage. I think it’s important for us fans (me included) to remember that she’s 19 years old playing against mature women (even the other rookies are older than she is).
Overall, I thought it was a decent game.