SEATTLE CRUISES PAST MINNESOTA, 82-72

After two consecutive overtime games, the Seattle Storm handled their business in regulation and waltzed to an easy 82-72 victory over Minnesota Lynx. The Storm used a 29-7 scoring spree in the last 8½ of the second to quarter to take the lead for good.

Breanna Stewart led a group of five Storm players in double figures, tallying 15 points. She also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. 

Joining Stewart in double digits for Seattle (5-1) were Jewell Loyd and Candice Dupree with 12 each, Sue Bird with 11, and Epiphanny Prince with 10. 

The victory was the 11th-staight win by the Storm over the Lynx dating back to 2019 and including the playoffs. Seattle has also collected its seventh-straight regular-season win over Minnesota and improved to 26-12 at home with its sixth-consecutive regular-season home victory against the Lynx.

The game was in sharp contrast to the contest between Storm and Lynx on May 20 in Minneapolis. In that one, Seattle was down 19 in the first half, 15 at halftime, and 13 with seven minutes to play before coming back for a 90-78 victory. 

On Friday, the Storm bolted to a 17-4 lead on before even five minutes had been played. Seattle hit its first six shots, and each of the five starters had at least one of those. (Loyd had two.) 

But the Lynx (0-4) finally got on track, and had closed within 27-23 by the end of the first quarter. They completed a 25-12 scoring surge on Napheesa Collier’s five-footer from the left of the hoop to climb into a 29-29 tie with 8:43 remaining in the first half. 

The Storm ran off the next seven points on a 22-footer by Prince, two free throws by Prince, a technical foul free throw by Stewart, and a lay-in by Dupree to make it 36-29. 

Minnesota got a bucket back, then it was another six straight points by Seattle. Up 48-36, Seattle rang up the last 10 points of the half to take a 58-36 lead into the locker room on 62.5 percent shooting (25 of 40) through the first 20 minutes. 

The lead was 27 going into the fourth quarter and grew to 30 at the outset of that period, 80-50. Still up 29 at 83-52 with 8:32 remaining, the Storm went scoreless the rest of the way while the Lynx scored the game’s final 19 points. 

Sylvia Fowles led Minnesota with 15 points, and Napheesa Collier chipped in 14. 

The game was the final Commissioner’s Cup game between the teams with the Storm sweeping both cup games. Seattle is 4-0 in Cup games so far—the only WNBA team with four wins.

The Storm return to action on Tuesday, June 1, hosting the Indiana Fever in a 7:30 p.m. PT game at Angel Of The Winds Arena in Everett.

—— StormBasketball.com ——

TEAM	SCORE	RECORD	HIGH PTS	HIGH REB	HIGH AST
Minnesota	72	0-4	Sylvia Fowles, 15	Anchonwa, Fowles, 6	Napheesa Collier, 6
Seattle	82	5-1	Breanna Stewart, 15	Breanna Stewart, 8	Bird, Loyd, Prince, 5

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• With the game tied at 29-29 early in the second quarter, Seattle broke it wide open, outscoring Minnesota 29-7 over the final 8:43 of the first half.
• The Storm would lead by as many as 30 points in the third quarter before the Lynx outscored Seattle 22-5 in the fourth quarter as both teams emptied their benches, making the final score at 10-point margin.
• Seattle now has won 11-straight against Minnesota dating back to 2019 (including playoffs), and nine in a row at home. The Storm are 26-12 against the Lynx in home games all-time.

KEY STATS OF THE GAME

• Seattle shot 62.5% from the field in the first half (25-40), including 65% (13-20) in the first quarter. It was the Storm’s best half since connecting on 65.5% at CON last year (8/16/20).
• Seattle scored a season-best 56 points in the paint while holding the Lynx to just 28. When the teams met in Minnesota last week, the Storm were outscored 40-26.
• Minnesota was held to a season-low 37.3% shooting from the field (25-67) and connected on just 24% from three-point range (6-25). Both were the lowest allowed by Seattle this season.

STORM HIGHLIGHTS

• The Storm had its highest-scoring first half of the season (58) while holding Minnesota to only 36 points—the fewest surrendered by Seattle so far.
• Seattle saw five players score in double-figures, led by Breanna Stewart, who recorded 15 points in just 26 minutes of play. She added eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
• Epiphanny Prince had a season-high 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting with five assists, two steals and a block. She matched her highest-point total since scoring 10 against Chicago last season (8/29/20).
• The Storm hit its first five shots of the game—one by each starter—with Jewell Loyd connecting on a sixth-straight Storm field goal as Seattle opened the game on a 13-2 run.
• The Storm allowed its fewest points in a game this season, beating its previous low of 78 at MIN (5/20). It was also the first time this year that Seattle did not allow an opposing player to score 20 points.
• With the win, the Storm start the season with a 5-1 record for the fifth time in franchise history. The last three times that happened, Seattle went on to win the WNBA Championship (2010, 2018, 2020).
• Seattle is now 4-0 in Commissioner’s Cup games—the best record in the league—with two wins against Minnesota, a home victory against Las Vegas, and a road win at Dallas.

LYNX HIGHLIGHTS

• Minnesota was led by the 15 points of Sylvia Fowles, who also grabbed six rebounds. She now has 5,559 career-points and is just four points away from tying Katie Douglas for 16th on the WNBA scoring list.
• Napheesa Collier—playing in her first game of the season after returning from overseas—tallied 14 in the game, with a game-high six assists and two blocks.
• Minnesota scored the final 19 points in the game, holding Seattle to 0-12 from the field and forcing three turnovers over the final