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WNBA Seattle Storm

Storm Rallies Late But Falls to Sun 93-86

September 1, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Seattle Storm News Release


UNCASVILLE, Conn. - All day long, the Seattle Storm kept knocking on the door.

They just weren't able to push their way inside.

Jewell Loyd poured in 27 points and Nneka Ogwumike added a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds, but the Connecticut Sun withstood multiple fourth-quarter comeback attempts by Seattle, hanging on for a 93-86 victory on Sunday afternoon in Mohegan Sun Arena.

Ezi Magbegor chipped in 13 points for the Storm (19-13), and Skylar Diggins-Smith added 16 points and six assists.

Connecticut, with the WNBA's second-leading record at 24-8, led by as many as 13 points at 55-42 just beyond the midpoint of the third quarter. Seattle trimmed that to nine at 65-56 entering the fourth, then got within six on multiple occasions, only to see the Sun come up with an answer. Often, that answer was from Brionna Jones, who finished with a season-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

Down 83-75 at the 1:53 mark, the Storm put together a 6-1 run off a 3-pointer by Loyd from the right corner, and a traditional three-point play by Ogwumike. That cut it to a one-possession margin at 84-81 with 1:07 to go.

Connecticut put the next four points on the board on a floater by Marina Mabrey and one free throw each from Veronica Burton and Alyssa Thomas. Loyd was fouled on a 3-point attempt from the left side and drained all three free throws for an 88-84 score at 28.8 seconds.

The Sun pushed it back to five at 89-84 on a free throw by Mabrey. Gabby Williams then was fouled on her trey attempt, and she hit two of her free throws, bringing it to 89-86 with 23.4 seconds still to go.

But those were Seattle's final points of the day. Connecticut added four more free throws in the remaining seconds.

BY THE NUMBERS

- After being out-rebounded by New York on Friday in Seattle, the Storm improved significantly on Sunday coming within 32-31 of Connecticut. Both teams had nine boards at the offensive end, and Seattle had a 9-7 edge in second-chance points.

- The teams combined to attempt 62 free throws in the game-the most in the WNBA this season-with Connecticut going to the line 38 times and the Storm taking 24 free throws. The Storm, which leads the league in free throw percentage, connected on 91.7% (22-of-24) while Connecticut made just 68.4% (22-of-38).

- Along with her 16 points, Diggins-Smith dealt six assists, giving her 207 for the season. The single-season record is 221 set by Sue Bird in 2003 and matched by Bird in 2018.

- Sami Whitcomb also had six assists, including the 500th of her career. She is now at 501.

- The Storm had 22 assists overall, their 18th game with 20-plus.

- Seattle hit 42.1 percent from the floor (30-of-71). Loyd was 8 of 16, and Magbegor was 5 of 10. The Sun, however, enjoyed 54.2 percent accuracy (32-of-59). That included 88.9 percent (9-of-11) during the third quarter.

- Of Loyd's 27 points, 10 came during the first quarter and 10 more came during the fourth. Those were her 15th and 16th quarters of the season scoring in double digits.

- Ogwumike's double-double was her eighth of the season and 109th of her career.

UP NEXT

The Storm plays the second of two-straight games in Connecticut on Tuesday, tipping off at 4:00 p.m. Pacific time (Fox 13+ / Prime Video Washington).

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