Storm Take Revenge on Sky in 95-57 Drubbing

It was pure domination by Seattle over Chicago.

(Chicago, Illinois) - The Seattle Storm (15-10) were embarrassed by the Dallas Wings on Tuesday night. That was bad news for Chicago, as Seattle took their anger and frustration out on the hapless Sky by a final score of 95-57.

This game was never particularly close beyond the opening minutes. Seattle led by 15 points during the first quarter. They held Chicago scoreless for the final 5:50 of the first half. Had the Storm not been in an offensive drought of their own during that time, they could have easily led by 20 points or more at the half. They settled for a 13-point lead instead. Unlike their game against Dallas, it was Seattle that pushed the pace to begin the second half. They outscored the Sky 56 to 31 in the second half and led by as much as 39 points.

Everything was going right for Seattle. They had six players score in double figures. Skylar Diggins led the team with 21 points. Rookie Dominique Malonga made WNBA history and became the youngest player (19 years, 250 days) to record a double-double in the league. She finished with a career-high 14 points and 10 rebounds on an efficient 6-9 FG shooting. She also had three assists and two blocked shots. Malonga’s potential was on full display as she did it all in just 17 minutes. She likely would have played even more, but she rolled her ankle in the second period and needed to get it looked at and wrapped up before returning in the 2nd half.

Gabby Williams finished with 10 points and a game-high seven assists. Nneka Ogwumike played just 20 minutes, but still finished with 10 points on 50% FG shooting. Erica Wheeler found her shot again and finished with 13 points on 50% shooting. She also made 3-4 FG from beyond the arc. Ezi Magbegor ended with nine points and five rebounds, but was a game-best +39 when she was on the court. She made an impact on both ends, but especially on the defensive side of the ball, where she had a steal and a game-high three blocks.

Seattle’s bench made the most of their extended minutes. Not only did Malonga set a career-high, but Lexie Brown finished with a season-high 12 points and was a perfect 5-5 on her field goal attempts, including a pair of triples. The Storm’s bench outscored the Sky’s reserves 32-13.

The Storm dominated the box score. They outshot the Sky 54% (37-69 FG) to 34% (21-62 FG). They were excellent from long distance, connecting on 45% (9-20 FG) compared to Chicago’s 19% (4-21 FG) from beyond the three-point line. Seattle out-rebounded Chicago 39-31. Of course, it helped that Angel Reese missed the game with a bad back. Coach Quinn said in the post-game that she’d focus on the positive, and that was that her team did a better job going after loose balls and boxing out.

Seattle dominated inside the paint and outscored Chicago 48-24. They outpaced them too with a 17-4 edge in fast break points. They had a large advantage in assists (25-14), steals (11-4), and blocked shots (8-3). The road team forced the Sky into 20 turnovers and had a 26-8 advantage in points off turnovers. It was complete and utter domination.

Chicago Sky

There is not a lot to write about from Chicago’s side. At least not until I get into my Part 2 commentary. Kamilla Cardoso played well, and that was the bright spot for them. She finished with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. Unfortunately, she fouled out relatively early in the 4th quarter, which limited her contributions.

Outside of Cardoso, Rachel Banham was the only other player who stood out. She tied Cardoso for a team-high 13 points and knocked down a couple of three-pointers.

Elizabeth Williams, whom I lobbied the Storm to draft in 2015 (third overall), was solid with 11 points on 5-8 FG. Hailey Van Lith scored eight points and had a team-high five assists off the bench.

To be fair to the Sky, they were without multiple key players, including Angel Reese, Ariel Atkins, and Michaela Onyenwere.

Game Breakdown

Skylar Diggins scored the game’s first basket. Seattle got off to a hot start. Nneka Ogwumike hit a jumper. Then Erica Wheeler made a three-pointer. Ezi Magbegor was fouled and made both free throws. Seattle led 12-4 early after a Skylar Diggins corner three-pointer.

Wheeler hit another triple, then Ezi Magbegor got to the rim for two. Ogwumike scored on a pass from Diggins. Gabby was fouled by Hailey Van Lith and made the basket for the AND1. Dominique Malonga scored back-to-back baskets between a Van Lith score.

Rachel Banham knocked down a triple, and then Van Lith found Kamilla Cardoso down low for the easy layup. That quick 5-0 run forced Coach Noelle Quinn into a timeout with Seattle leading 26-16 with under a minute to play in the first quarter.

Banham was able to hit a dribble pull-up before the end of the period. Seattle led Chicago 26-18 after one quarter of play.

Dominique Malonga scored down low to begin the 2nd quarter. Maddy Westbelt hit an open three at the top of the arch. Wheeler drove baseline and found Diggins in the corner for another three-ball. Kamilla Cardoso scored again down low. Unfortunately, Malonga went down in a ton of pain as she rolled her ankle when she went to step back and stepped on Erica Wheeler’s foot.

Shortly after that, Gabby took an accidental elbow to the face from Cardoso, who was cutting down the lane. Seattle responded with two free throws from Diggins, a steal by Wheeler, and score from Diggins, and a beautiful feed by Ezi Magbegor, who found Nneka cutting to the rim. That put the Storm ahead by 11 at 37-26.

Neither team scored for over three minutes. Magbegor scored near the rim and was fouled. She missed the AND1 opportunity. Per the broadcast, it was the first free throw Ezi had missed in her last 18 attempts. The Storm’s defense held the Sky scoreless over the final 5:50 of the 2nd quarter. They led 39-26 at the midway point.

Unlike the last game against Dallas, this time it was the Storm that jumped out to a quick 6-0 run. Diggins was fouled and made both free throws. Ogwumike got a steal in the open court near the timeline for the easy layup. Then Gabby got a steal that led to a 2-on-1 fast break. That forced Chicago’s Coach Tyler Marsh to call a timeout.

The road team continued to pour it on, pushing their lead to 25 points on a Gabby Williams AND1. Rachel Banham countered with a triple to score Chicago’s first field goal in nearly a full quarter. Skylar immediately answered with a three-pointer on the other end.

Nneka Ogwumike scored on a midrange shot. Kamilla Carodo was fouled and made both foul shots. Gabby and Dom each scored to push Seattle’s lead to 28. Lexie Brown and Kia Nurse swapped three-point baskets. After an Elizabeth Williams layup, Brown found Wheeler in the corner for a three. Wheeler then made a fancy reverse layup as time expired. The Storm led 70-43 at the end of the third.

Chicago looked lifeless without Angel Reese. Their defense was almost non-existent, and they missed most of their shots. Dominique Malonga got into double figures with a nice low-post shot past Cardoso. Diggins scored on a jumper. Then Lexie Brown hit a pull-up off the screen. The Sky were forced to call another timeout as Seattle ballooned their lead to 33 points.

Brown got a steal a couple of possessions later and finished uncontested at the rim. Even Alysha Clark got in on the action, which was good to see. Brown hit her second triple to give Seattle their largest lead of the game (39 points) as they led 90-51.

Hailey Van Lith was fouled and made both free throws. Malonga found Brown again, who made a nice move to the basket and scored. Dominique hit her first career three-pointer with 24 seconds left, which also gave her a new career-high 14 points. Dom grabbed one more rebound, her 10th of the game, to finish the game off as Seattle cruised to a 95-57 victory.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Storm (15-10) travel to D.C. to face the Washington Mystics (11-12) on Saturday, July 26th at 5:30 PM. The Mystics defeated the Storm in their first matchup in Seattle by a final score of 74-69.

Part 2

Part 2 will include additional thoughts and discussion from Thursday’s game against the Chicago Sky. It’ll be sent exclusively to paid subscribers tomorrow morning.

Notes:
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