Storm Lose Close One to PHX 72-68
The veteran Mercury team executed down the stretch for the win.
(Seattle, WA) - The Seattle Storm (3-8) played a hard-fought game against the Phoenix Mercury (3-8) on Wednesday night, but ultimately came up just a little bit short. The veteran Mercury squad outscored Seattle 20-13 over the final 10 minutes to win 72-68. It was Seattle’s fourth loss in a row, but the first one by single digits during this losing streak. The young Storm team is showing growth despite not finding themselves in the win column.
The best part of Wednesday’s game was that rookie Awa Fam looked every bit the potential #1 overall pick she was heralded to be before the 2026 WNBA Draft took place. Fam looked extremely comfortable out there, scoring a career-high 18 points on 9-17 FG (53%). She also had six rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Outside of Fam, Natisha Hiedeman was the only other Storm player to score in double figures. She finished with 15 points, with three made triples, and four assists. Flau’jae Johnson added nine points and a team-high five assists. Zia Cooke also added nine points off the bench.
Both teams shot roughly 38%. Seattle went 28-73 FG, and Phoenix shot 24-64 FG. The Storm were better from beyond the arc, connecting on 27% (9-33 FG) compared to 14% (3-22 FG) for the Mercury. Both teams had the same number of assists (17) and turnovers (14). Seattle’s best period was the third quarter, where they outscored their opponent 22-16. The home team’s bench outscored the Mercury’s reserves 21-15.
Phoenix Mercury
The Mercury were led by Natasha Mack, who finished the game with 16 points on a perfect 7-7 FG shooting. She had a double-double and added 10 rebounds. Mack was one of four players to score in double figures for Phoenix. Seattle’s defense held Phoenix’s stars in check. Kahleah Copper finished with 16 points on 4-14 FG. Monique Akoa Makani added 12 points and six rebounds.
DeWanna Bonner added 10 points off the bench, but shot an inefficient 3-12 FG, which included 0-7 FG from 3-PT range. Alyssa Thomas finished with a near double-double of nine points and nine rebounds. She also had a team-high five assists.
Phoenix’s two biggest advantages were their rebounding and their ability to get to the free throw line. They out-rebounded Seattle 44-34, which included a 10-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. They shot 22 more free throws and scored 18 more points from the line. They had narrow advantages with points in the paint (34-28), second-chance points (12-10), and fast break points (17-11).
Game Breakdown
Flau’jae Johnson knocked down a three-pointer for the game’s first basket. Natasha Mack scored in the short corner. Alyssa Thomas scored on a shot-put jumper. Kahleah Copper knocked down a triple to give the Mercury a quick 7-3 lead early in the first. Mack added another baseline jumper and a layup, forcing Coach Sonia Raman to call a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Flau’jae Johnson found Awa Fam rolling to the rim for the layup. Natisha Hiedeman threw an outlet pass to Fam for the transition score. Zia Cooke drove through the defense for the scoop layup. Jade Melboure tied the game with an open three-pointer. The Mercury immediately responded with a 7-0 run, which included points from Jovana Nogic, Alyssa Thomas, and an And-1 by DeWanna Bonner.
Zia Cooke connected with a three-pointer. Kahleah Copper added two free throws to end the first period. Through the first 10 minutes, the Mercury led 21-15.
Cooke knocked down a pull-up jumper shortly before the shot clock expired. The Mercury added points from the line and a couple of layups by Mack. Jade Melbourne used a no-look pass to find Awa Fam for two more. Jovana Nogic put Phoenix up by double-digits, 29-19. Kahleah Copper knocked down a corner three to extend their lead. Flau’jae Johnson found Mackenzie Holmes down low for two. Natisha Hiedeman made a deep two to cut the deficit down to single digits. That prompted Coach Nate Tibbetts to call a timeout.
Rookies Awa Fam and Flau’jae Johnson scored on back-to-back possessions to cut Seattle’s deficit to seven. After a lucky bounce resulted in an open layup for Monique Akoa Makani, Hiedeman drilled a three-pointer. That was followed up by one from Flau’jae. Seattle used a 10-2 run to cut the Mercury’s lead to three. Phoenix led 36-33 at the midway point of the game. Seattle outshot the Mercury 37% (14-38 FG) to 35% (12-34 FG). The home team was much better from beyond the arc (31% to 15%). Phoenix out-rebounded Seattle 25-15, which included a 7-0 advantage in offensive rebounds.
Hiedeman started the 2nd half with a physical drive, but the Mercury responded with a quick 6-0 spurt. Seattle responded with baskets from Awa Fam and Jordan Horston. Natasha Mack added two more points from the foul line. Fam made a beautiful spin move down low. Hiedeman crossed up the Mercury defender, who fell to the floor, then Natisha buried the triple. After Noemie Brochant scored on a reverse layup, Hiedeman connected on another three-pointer to give the Storm a one-point lead at 47-46, forcing Coach Tibbetts to call a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Akoa Makani got to the rim for two. Flau’jae found Fam on the pick-and-roll for another score. Fam then hit a stepback jumper and had an assist to Holmes for an easy score. Brochant and Hiedeman exchanged baskets. Thomas used her strength to power through contact for two at the rim. At the end of the third period, the Storm led 55-52.
Mackenzie Holmes snagged an offensive rebound, which immediately resulted in a three-pointer by Jordan Horston. That briefly gave Seattle its largest lead of the game, ahead by six. Monique Akoa Makani had her own personal 7-0 run to regain the lead for the Mercury.
Copper and Mack scored four inside the paint after Flau’jae split two free throws, putting Phoenix ahead 63-59. After the timeout, Seattle ran a play to get Fam in the paint, where she immediately scored. DeWanna Bonner took over late, knocking down a midrange jumper, getting an open-court steal and score, and splitting two free throws. That gave the Mercury a seven-point lead with just a few minutes remaining in the game.
Jade Melbourne added two points from the line with around 90 seconds remaining. Seattle had two good looks at a three, one by Flau’jae and the other by Zia Cooke, that would have cut the Storm’s deficit to two with roughly 45 seconds to go in the game. Seattle got a steal that led to a Cooke fast break layup, but with under 24 seconds to go, Seattle was forced to foul. Kahleah Copper calmly sank both free throws.
Katie Lou Samuelson knocked down a three-pointer with less than 10 seconds to play, but Copper added two more from the line to put the game out of reach. At the final buzzer, Phoenix escaped Seattle with a narrow 72-68 victory.
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 (3-8) will go back on the road for two more games. Next up will be this Saturday, 6/6, at 10:00 AM against the Minnesota Lynx (7-2).
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