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WNBA Seattle Storm

Diggins-Smith's Season-High, Loyd's Late Heroics Aren't Enough in Atlanta

August 19, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Seattle Storm News Release


ATLANTA - The Seattle Storm thought they had found a way to play an extra five minutes.

But those hopes were dashed inside the final two seconds.

Jewell Loyd hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 4.6 to play in regulation, but Tina Charles came down to the other end of the court and bounced in an 8-footer from the left of the lane with 1.8 seconds remaining, boosting the Atlanta Dream to an 83-81 victory inside Gateway Center on Friday night.

Skylar Diggins-Smith poured in a season-high 29 points, and Loyd finished with 21 for the Storm (17-9), which saw its three-game winning streak end as Seattle returned to action following the month-long break for the WNBA All-Star Game and the Paris Olympics.

But neither performance was enough to stave off a second-half comeback by the Dream (8-17), who were down by 14 early in the third quarter before eventually building a pair of six-point leads midway through the fourth and halted an eight-game losing streak.

Charles, who had 16 points, wasn't the only former Storm player who was a factor on Friday. Jordin Canada scored all 10 of her points during the fourth quarter, the last two of which came on a pair of free throws with 10.7 seconds left for an 81-78 lead.

Seattle came out of a timeout and inbounded on the left side of front court. Diggins-Smith launched a 3-pointer from the left of the lane, but it bounced high off the rim. Loyd came down with it on the right side. She flung up a prayer of a shot as she was falling out of bounds, and It swished through to tie the game at 81-81.

The Dream called a reset timeout and Canada inbounded on the left side of their front court, getting it to Charles. She took it along the baseline, stopped just outside the lane and fired up a short one that bounced and dropped through to make it 83-81.

Out of timeouts, all the Storm could do was inbound from backcourt, and weren't able to get off a last-gasp attempt before time expired.

Except for a brief moment late in the opening quarter when the Dream took an 18-17 lead, the Storm led for the entirety of the first half. They put together a 9-1 run to go up 26-19 and twice built the advantage to as many as 11 before taking a 41-29 margin into halftime.

A pair of Diggins-Smith free throws at the outset of the third quarter made it 43-29. But Atlanta started chipping away, thanks in part to Ryne Howard, who scored 14 of her game-high 30 points during that period, with nine of those coming on three consecutive makes from downtown.

That helped the Dream get within five at 49-44, and it was still a five-point margin at 60-55 entering the fourth.

Howard hit a pair of free throws with 6:25 remaining to push Atlanta in front, 64-63. A free throw by Canada made it 65-63. Seattle tied the game once more at 65-65 on a lay-in by Ezi Magbegor. The Dream then put the next four on the board on an 8-footer by Canada and a lay-in by Howard to go up 69-65 and never trailed again.

BY THE NUMBERS

- Nneka Ogwumike finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting for Seattle despite missing a good chunk of the first half after picking up two fouls in the first 54 seconds of the game.

- Diggins-Smith tallied 17 of her 29 points during the first half. She wound up hitting 11-of-21 from the floor and handing out five assists.

- The Storm hit two more field goals than Atlanta (32-30). The Dream had an advantage at the foul line, 17-11.

- Seattle had just 14 turnovers, making it 19-straight games with 15 or fewer. That is the fifth-longest such streak in league history.

- The Storm forced Atlanta into 19 turnovers, converting those into a season-high 28 points.

- Seattle is now 9-3 against Eastern Conference teams.

UP NEXT

The Storm continues its three-game road trip on Sunday at Indiana, tipping off at 12:30 p.m. (ABC). It will be their fourth and final game this season against Caitlin Clark and the Fever, with Seattle winning the first three.

Check out the Seattle Storm Statistics

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