Storm Snap Losing Streak, Beat Sky 97-88

Dominique Malonga and Zia Cooke were key to the victory.

(Seattle, WA) - The Seattle Storm (7-28) finally snapped their 11-game losing streak against the struggling Chicago Sky (12-21). Seattle took the lead early on and stayed one step ahead of Chicago for the entire game. The Sky made it a game late in the fourth quarter. A steal and score by DiJonai Carrington cut the Storm’s lead to two. It looked like Seattle was going to collapse like they have so many times this season. But a low-post score by Dominique Malonga and a corner three by Zia Cooke helped Seattle extend their lead for good. They secured the 97-88 win in front of the raucous home crowd.

Dominique Malonga continued her impressive play with another 20/10 double-double. She finished with 26 points on 9-14 FG and pulled down 10 rebounds. She also had three blocks and two steals. Natisha Hiedeman added 18 points, going 12-12 FT from the foul line. She scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half. She also dished out a game-high nine assists. Jordan Horston got the start in place of the injured Flau’jae Johnson, and contributed 10 points, six rebounds, and two steals. Zia Cooke provided a strong offensive spark off the bench, totaling 16 points on 7-12 FG, including multiple clutch shots late in the game.

The Storm outshot the Sky 45% (32-71 FG) to 42% (30-72 FG). They were also better from beyond the arc, 38% (8-21 FG) to 30% (6-20 FG). They had small advantages in rebounds (36-35), assists (22-18), and free throws (+3). One area that Seattle really capitalized on was points off turnovers, outscoring Chicago 22-9.

I spoke with Coach Sonia Raman after the game about the team’s performance.