Storm End Road Trip with Big Win

Seattle defeated Connecticut 101-85 in a game that wasn’t that close.

(Uncasville, Connecticut) - The Seattle Storm (16-11) finished their three-game road trip on a positive note. They took care of business and did not play down to their competition. Their offense was sharp and on point. They shot a season-high 61% (42-69 FG) and moved with intentions. They held a comfortable lead at the half, but exploded in the third quarter and outscored Connecticut 30-12. Seattle led by 32 points in the 2nd half and was able to rest their starters for pretty much the entire 4th quarter. The Storm defeated the Sun 101-85.

Seattle was hitting on all cylinders. Five players scored in double figures, and seven players scored eight points or more. Nneka Ogwumike led the way with 26 points on an incredible 11-13 FG shooting. Ogwumike was lights out from long distance, knocking down four of her five three-point attempts. Ogwumike scored those 26 points in just 19 minutes of game action. Her partner in crime, Skylar Diggins, had her first career triple-double. She finished with 11 points, 11 assists, and 12 rebounds. Diggins accomplished that feat by the end of the third quarter. Skylar became just the second player in Storm franchise history to record a triple-double. The first player was Tameka Johnson in 2014 against the New York Liberty.

Gabby Williams rebounded after one of her worst games of the season on Saturday against the Mystics. Williams finished with 16 points on 7-11 FG and had three steals. She was also a game-best plus-27 in plus/minus. Coach Noelle Quinn mentioned that her performance was a big difference between their loss on Saturday and their win on Monday night. She talked about how much better the team is when Gabby is going strong.

Ezi Magbegor had a strong game with 10 points, five rebounds, and four blocked shots in just 17 minutes. Rookie Dominique Malonga had her third strong performance in a row. She played a season-high 25 minutes and finished with 12 points (6-12 FG), six rebounds, one block, and one steal. It appears the training wheels are starting to come off for the young 19-year-old. This was her third strong performance in a row off the bench.

Seattle outshot Connecticut 61% (42-69 FG) to 40% (27-67 FG). Both teams were excellent from beyond the arc. The Storm made 45% (9-20 FG) and the Sun hit 47% (8-17 FG). Seattle out-rebounded Connecticut 37-26. They had a 30-20 edge in assists. Defensively, the road team had an 8-2 advantage. The Storm dominated inside the paint 56 to 26. They had a smaller advantage in fast break points (18-13).

Connecticut Sun

The Sun had four players reach double figures. Bria Hartley led the way with 17 points and four assists. Tina Charles added 11 points and made 7-8 FT. Rookie Aneesah Morrow had a near-double-double of nine points and seven rebounds. Olivia Nelson-Ododa contributed 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. Jacy Sheldon (11 points) and Leila Lacan (nine) combined for 20 points off the bench.

Connecticut was excellent from the charity stripe. They made 89% (23-26 FT) of their foul shots. They also forced Seattle into 17 turnovers and scored 18 points off those mistakes.

Game Breakdown

Skylar scored at the rim for the game’s basket. After a couple of empty possessions by both teams, Tina Charles was able to draw a foul and made both free throws. Magbegor found Nneka Ogwumike down low for the easy layup. Marina Mabrey through traffic in the lane. Then Saniya Rivers was able to force her way to the rim. Gabby Williams tied the game at 6-6 with a drive to the layup.

Aneesah Morrow was able to get Ogwumike up in the air and was fouled for the AND1. Ogwuike countered with a three-pointer at the top of the arc. Mabrey made a nice cut to the rim. Ezi scored on a reverse layup. Tina Charles made one of her patented hook shots deep inside the paint.

Seattle used a 9-0 run. Magbegor scored six of those points. Gabby Williams capped it off with a jumper and was fouled for the AND1. That put the Storm ahead 20-13. Olivia Nelson-Ododa hit a tough shot over the outstretched arms of Dominique Malonga. Erica Wheeler and Jacy Sheldon exchanged three-point baskets. Wheeler finished a high shot off the glass. Seattle led 27-21 at the end of the first quarter.

The Storm went on a 12-3 run to open up the second period. That put Seattle ahead 39-24. Tiffany Mitchell had a strong drive through contact for the AND1. After Morrow hit a corner three, Skylar was fouled on her layup for a traditional three-point play. Lexie Brown found Malonga rolling to the rim for two. Diggins scored again and then made a beautiful pass to find an open Alysha Clark open under the rim to put Seattle ahead by 15 points.

Zia Cooke knocked down a rainbow corner three. That was answered by Bria Hartley, who hit a stepback three. Ogwumike hit the third three-pointer in as many possessions. The Sun ended the first half on a 9-5 run. After a pair of Hartley free throws, Marina Mabrey hit a shot, Tina Charles scored down low, and then Hartley hit a deep three. The Storm led 57-46 at the midway point.

Mabrey scored off a short curl cut to open up the third quarter, but it was all Seattle after that. The Storm used an 11-0 run to go ahead by 20 at 68-48, forcing Connecticut Coach Rachid Meziane to call a timeout. Diggins scored twice, and Ogwumike did the rest. Out of the timeout, Saniya Rivers hit a corner three.

The third quarter was all Seattle. They outscored the Sun 30-12 and shot 87% (13-15 FG). The Storm were using excellent ball movement to find great looks. They were cutting and moving without the basketball. Ogwumike led the way with 11 points and made all five of her shots. That included another triple. Dominique Malonga added six points in the quarter.

Over the final 10 minutes, Connecticut whittled down the Storm’s 32-point lead. It allowed Seattle’s reserves to get a lot of burn. And that also allowed Seattle’s starters to rest. Both Nneka Oguwmike and Ezi Magbegor played fewer than 20 minutes. No starter played more than 24 minutes (Gabby Williams). All six healthy reserves played. Mackenzie Holmes played six minutes, but all the other bench players played at least 12 minutes. Seattle’s reserves scored 30 points total. Dominique Malonga and Zia Cooke combined for 20 of those 30 points.

Connecticut outscored Seattle 27-14 in the 4th quarter. Rookie Leila Lacan scored all nine of her points in the final frame. Veteran and former Storm draft pick, Bria Hartley, scored six of her 17 points in the final period.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Storm (16-11) return home for three consecutive games. First up, they host the red-hot Los Angeles Sparks (11-14) on Friday, August 1st at 7:00 PM. The Sparks have won five games in a row and seven out of their last 10. Seattle crushed LA in their first matchup by a final score of 98-67. However, Kelsey Plum didn’t play in that game. The Sparks also announced that Cameron Brink will return to action this Tuesday in their game against the Las Vegas Aces. She is expected to play against the Storm as long as everything goes well. Due to the WNBA Draft repercussions, this game and the remaining games against Los Angeles are extremely important to Seattle. More important than any other games remaining on the schedule.

Part 2

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

Notes:
Share your thoughts on this game in the comments below!
Thanks for all the great support! Please share my coverage with other WNBA fans. Please share, retweet, repost, etc., if you enjoy my articles.
Thanks to Her Hoop Stats and Across the Timeline for being great resources.
Photo Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography

Social Media:
Follow me on Bluesky (@wnbastormchasers.bsky.social)
Follow me on Threads (@WNBAStormChasers)
Follow me on X/Twitter (@WNBAStormChaser)