Loyd's Late Three Gives Seattle 85-81 Win Over Atlanta

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WNBA Seattle Storm

Loyd's Late Three Gives Seattle 85-81 Win Over Atlanta

August 29, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Seattle Storm News Release


SEATTLE - Different kind of dagger. Different kind of outcome for Jewell Loyd and the Seattle Storm.

Loyd hit nothing but net on a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 22.3 seconds left, then added a pair of clinching free throws with 9.8 seconds to go as the Storm scored the final eight points of the game to get past the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night in Climate Pledge Arena, 85-81.

"When you have elite players with elite mindsets and with capabilities to execute and hit shots, that's what happens," coach Noelle Quinn said. "It looked good when it left her hands. That's an excellent shot by Jewell. Her feet were set; it looked good when it came out of her hands."

Those final five points gave Loyd 28 for the night as the Storm (19-11) inched closer to clinching a WNBA playoff spot. Unofficially, they could clinch on Friday by getting a win vs New York or a loss by Atlanta at Las Vegas, or a win over New York and a loss by Chicago at home against Indiana. Wednesday's outcome game Seattle the season series, 2-1, and that would be the first tiebreaker if the two teams should somehow wind up deadlocked for a spot.

Nneka Ogwumike added 18 points for the Storm, and Skylar Diggins-Smith tallied 16 to go along with nine assists, five rebounds, and three blocked shots.

Two weeks ago, when the Storm visited Atlanta for their first game after the month-long break for the Paris Olympics, Loyd threw up a fallaway prayer of a 3-pointer that went in with 4.6 seconds left to tie the game at 81-81. But Tina Charles answered with a short jumper at 1.8 seconds to go, and the Dream escaped with the 83-81 win, snapping an eight-game losing streak.

"There's just an understanding that all of these games are super-important, and we want to make sure we're locked in and executing our game plan," Loyd said. "We want to come out and set the tone, and that's what we decided in practice was to set a tone for how we play."

The Storm led for most of the night, but it was the Dream who took a 62-59 lead into the fourth quarter. Seattle edged back in front and was up 76-72 with 3:06 to play when Atlanta's Allisha Gray was fouled by Ezi Magbegor on a 3-point attempt. After a video review, the officials upgraded the call to a flagrant, giving Gray three free throws and Atlanta possession in front court with a full 24 seconds on the clock.

Gray buried all three to cut the lead to 76-75. Jordin Canada's lay-in on the subsequent possession essentially made it a five-point play and put Atlanta on top, 77-76.

The lead grew to 81-77 after a lay-in by Rhyne Howard with 1:40 remaining. The Storm came out of a timeout and Diggins-Smith missed a 3-pointer. But it came right down to Ogwumike who put laid it back in, was fouled and added the free throw, reducing the margin to 81-80 at 1:32.

Seattle's defends forced Howard to step out of bounds under her own hoop with 1:10 to go, but they weren't able to convert at the other end. The Dream came back down and made a bad pass that Magbegor went to the floor to grab and quickly call timeout with 28.1 left.

Loyd got wide open beyond the top of the key, Diggins-Smith found her, and Loyd buried it.

Within the last 30 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime, when she is shooting to either tie the game or give Seattle the lead, Loyd is now 12 of 24 in career, including 5 of 11 from downtown.

"It was a great set-up, and I was telling Nneka that it was such a great screen that it was hard not to take that shot," Loyd said. "The whole theme tonight was just team effort. Everyone made big plays and big shots, and that's what we need. It was a great pass, it was a great screen, and I was able to knock that shot down."

Added Quinn, "I've been with her when she has hit game winners and a plethora of tough shots. Two weeks ago) in Atlanta, she hit a tough shot. Today, this one feels good because coming back from being down one late in that game, knowing we have the pieces to execute it - that's top 10, and she has hit some pretty amazing shots."

Atlanta called timeout and inbounded in front court. Howard's jumper missed. Magbegor and Tina Charles tied it up for a jump. The ball was tipped out and the Dream retained possession with 12.5 seconds left.

Canada struggled to get the ball in before a five-second violation. She floated it toward the top of the key, and Gabby Williams leaped to grab it. She called timeout and Seattle inbounded in front court. It came to Loyd, who was knocked down by Naz Hillman with 9.8 seconds showing. She swished both free throws for a two-possession lead at 85-81.

Atlanta was out of timeouts. The Storm allowed Canada to take a deep 3-pointer that fell short. Loyd rebounded and hung on until the horn.

"This was night and day," Quinn said in comparing Wednesday's effort to what happened on Monday in a disappointing 74-72 loss to Washington. "We talked about it for a day and a half, the appropriate mindset and the manner in which you have to be a pro, and I thought our team did that."

BY THE NUMBERS

- Tina Charles, who played for the Storm for the latter portion of the 2022 season, finished with a triple-double of 19 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists - the first triple-double in the history of the Dream franchise.

- Magbegor led the Storm with nine rebounds, helping provide a 37-36 edge on the boards.

- Seattle tied its season low with eight turnovers, the third time it has had that few this summer. It was the 22nd time in the past 23 games it has had fewer than 15.

- Loyd, Ogwumike, Diggins-Smith, and Magbegor scored 69 of the team's 85 points. In the five games since returning from the break, they have supplied 321 of the team's 396 points.

UP NEXT

Seattle closes out the three-game homestand on Friday with the only visit of the year from the New York Liberty. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. (ION TV).

-- StormBasketball.com --

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