Storm Win Battle of the Youths 97-85

Natisha Hiedeman and Flau'jae Johnson led the way for Seattle.

(Seattle, WA) - The Seattle Storm (3-4) earned their second impressive win in a row after defeating the Washington Mystics (2-3) by a final score of 97-85. After a close back-and-forth first quarter, the Storm outscored the Mystics by 20 points over the second and third periods. That allowed them to take full control of the game and never look back. Seattle led by as many as 26 points in the 2nd half of the game. The Mystics had a strong 4th quarter where they outscored Seattle 31-21, but it was too little, too late for the team from D.C. The 97 points scored by Seattle were a season-high and the first time the team topped 90 points this season.

The Storm had five players score in double figures. They were led by Natisha Hiedeman, who tied her career-high with 24 points. Hiedeman scored 18 of her 24 in the first half. Hiedeman shot 7-12 FG, 4-6 FG from 3-PT range, and a perfect 6-6 FT from the foul line. She also had five assists.

Flau’jae Johnson tied her career high that she set against Connecticut on Friday with 17 points. Johnson collected six rebounds and had another block in this game. Stefanie Dolson added 16 points and was perfect from the floor. She knocked down 3-3 FG, 2-2 FG from beyond the arc, and was perfect 8-8 FT from the line.

Awa Fam made her season debut and immediately produced. She finished with 10 points on 4-7 FG. She also had a couple of rebounds. Zia Cooke also added 10 points off the bench and knocked down 2-4 FG from the three-point line.

Seattle outshot D.C. 44% (26-59 FG) to 40% (23-57 FG). They were also significantly better from beyond the arc, knocking down 46% (13-28 FG) compared to just 20% (4-20 FG) for the Mystics. Both teams combined for 75 free throws, which was egregious. The Storm knocked down 94% (32-34 FT). They had more assists (20-14) and bench points (32-25).

Washington Mystics

The Mystics also had five players score in double figures in this game. Sonia Citron led them with 16 points. She scored 10 of those points in the final period and went 10-11 FT from the foul line. Kiki Iriafen added 13 points on 4-8 FG and had four rebounds.

Georgia Amoore led the team in assists with six and had 13 points. She was a perfect 8-8 FT from the line, but made just 1-7 FG from 3-PT range. Amoore also fouled out of the game with six fouls.

Shakira Austin added 12 points, four rebounds, and a couple of emphatic blocks. Rookie Angela Dugalić had a career-high 13 points off the bench on 5-6 FG.

D.C. out-rebounded the Storm 26-24. They also doubled Seattle’s offensive rebounds, 6-3. They outscored the Storm 12-10 in second-chance points and 12-5 in fast-break points. The Mystics took 41 free throws and made 35 of them (85%).

Game Breakdown

Georgia Amoore knocked down a corner three-pointer to begin the game. Flau’jae Johnson was fouled on a take to the rim and made both free throws. Shakira Austin was fouled on the other end and added two from the line. Natisha Hiedeman buried a three to tie the game at 5-5. Amoore was fouled on a jumper and hit both free throws. Hiedeman tied the game again with a strong drive past Amoore. Shakira Austin knocked down a three and then a runner in the paint to continue the Mystics’ hot start. After Johnson narrowly missed a triple, Austin scored again to double up the Storm at 14-7. That forced Coach Sonia Raman into a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Flau’jae got fouled attacking the rim and knocked down both free throws. The fouls continued for both sides. Lauren Betts was fouled by Stefanie Dolson and added two more from the line. Jade Melbourne found Dolson off the pick-and-roll for the layup. Betts knocked down a midrange jumper. Zia Cooke responded by knocking down a triple. Jordan Horston added a three-pointer to cut the Mystics’ lead to one.

Awa Fam and Katie Lou Samuelson checked into the game at the same time with around four minutes to play in the first quarter. Fam received a massive ovation from the home crowd. Cotie McMahon scored in the lane. Cooke used a dribble hesitation to get two at the rim. Kiki Iriafen got ahead of the defense for the easy transition layup. Hiedeman added two from the free throw line. After a Cassandre Prosper layup, Cooke added two more from the line. Hiedeman knocked down a three-ball right before the quarter ended to put Seattle ahead 26-24 at the end of the first.

Flau’jae Johnson knocked down an outside shot with her toe on the line to open up the second quarter. Angela Dugalić picked up a steal off an errant pass and raced down the court for the easy two. Dugalić scored again inside the paint to tie the game. Hiedeman hit another three right before the shot clock buzzer expired. Amoore added two more from the line. Flau’jae was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank all three free throws to put Seattle ahead 34-30.

Cooke got the ball back to Jordan Horston for the midrange jumper. Rori Harmon forced her way to the rim for two. Mackenzie Holmes scored in the paint. Georgia Amoore knocked down a pull-up jumper. Stef Dolson drilled a three at the top of the arch to push Seattle’s lead to eight at 42-34.

Out of the timeout, Sonia Citron made a strong drive to the rim for two. Flau’jae Johnson assisted Awa on a roll to the rim for Fam’s first WNBA basket. Hiedeman hit a three and scored on a step-through midrange jumper to end the first half. The Storm led 49-37 at the midway point.

Hiedeman drew a foul on back-to-back possessions to open up the 2nd half and made all four free throws. Michaela Onyenwere scored two at the rim. Kiki Iriafen knocked down a three-pointer. Flau’jae knocked down a nifty reverse layup. Johnson then knocked down another triple for the Storm to put them ahead by 18 points, forcing Mystics’ Coach Sydney Johnson to call a timeout.

Flau’jae knocked down another three. Iriafen made a fast drive to the rim for two. Dolson sank two more free throws to put the Storm up 65-44. The free throws continued as Sonia Citron made four straight. Zia Cooke used dribble penetration to find the cutting Awa Fam for two. Lauren Betts scored from an offensive rebound, forcing Coach Sonia Raman to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Zia Cooke knocked down a three-pointer. Dolson added two more from the line. Lexie Brown got an open-court steal that led to another Mystics foul and two free throws for the Storm. Both teams added four more free throws apiece to end the third period. Entering the fourth quarter, the Storm led the Mystics 76-54.

The Storm got a steal that led to a transition three-pointer by Lexie Brown. Sonia Citron was fouled and made both. Brown was fouled on a three-point shot and made two of three. Shakira Austin scored an AND1 on a turnaround jumper in the paint. Austin then had a massive rejection on Hiedeman on the other end. Angela Dugalić knocked down a three. The Mystics went on a 10-0 run to cut the Storm’s lead from 25 down to 15.

Awa Fam knocked down a midrange jumper. Citron added two more free throws. Dugalić had an AND1 opportunity, but missed the free throw. Katie Lou Samuelson knocked down a critical three-pointer as the Mystics had cut the Storm’s 25-point lead in half. After a Sonia Citron basket, Awa Fam was fouled and made both free throws. Hiedeman then found a cutting Fam at the rim for two more, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Free throws by Melbourne and Dolson pushed the Storm’s lead back up to 19 at 94-75. The Mystics got baskets from Iriafen and Dugalić. Washington outscored the Storm 31-21 in the final period. They went to the free throw line 19 times, knocking down 16 free throws over the game’s final 10 minutes. That allowed them to cut into Seattle’s lead to make the game respectable, but the Storm were never threatened after going ahead by 26 points. At the final horn, Seattle won the game 97-85.

Final Box Score

Part 2

Part 2 will include more interviews, quotes, and discussions on the Storm’s impressive defense, building through youth, and more. That’ll be sent exclusively to paid subscribers tomorrow morning.

Up Next

A rematch with these same two teams. The Storm (3-4) will host the Washington Mystics (2-3) again on Wednesday, 5/27 at 7:00 PM PT at Climate Pledge Arena.

Notes:
Thanks to my readers for the great support! Please tell other WNBA fans about my coverage. Please share, retweet, repost, etc., if you enjoy my articles.
Photography Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography
Thanks to Her Hoop Stats and Across the Timeline for being great resources!

Social Media:
Facebook (NEW): https://www.facebook.com/StormChasersBasketball
Bluesky (@wnbastormchasers.bsky.social)
Threads/Instagram (@WNBAStormChasers)
X/Twitter (@WNBAStormChaser)