Rested Storm team scores easy 95-73 win at Fever

After a loss and some rest, the Seattle Storm returned to its winning ways with an offensive explosion that saw five players score in double figures.

 Jewell Loyd led the Storm offensive barrage with a game-high 25 points as the Storm rolled past Indiana 95-73 on Tuesday night at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. After an impressive 73-57 home win over the Fever on Friday, July 1st the Storm hit the and were listless in a 90 to 76 loss to the Atlanta Dream just 48 hours later. While it was a short respite between the Dream and rematch with the Fever, the Storm got some much needed rest and it showed

Seattle improves to 14-8 on the season with one game remaining before the all-star break, while dropping the Fever to 5-18. The Storm win was also the 400^th victory in franchise history as Seattle becomes the fifth team to win 400 games and the first among teams which started in 2000 or later. The Storm is also the third-fastest of the group to reach 400 wins, needing 750 games to hit the milestone.

Loyd poured in 25 points thanks in large part to four three-pointers, adding three assists and three steals. Gabby Williams paced the Storm in the third quarter, scoring eight of her 14 points in the period, shooting 7-of-9 from the field overall and adding six rebounds and two steals.

Ezi Magbegor recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds while fellow center Tina Charles had her best game so far in a Storm uniform, tallying 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, adding eight rebounds and two assists. Breanna Stewart chipped in 12 points and added six rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

After a close start to the contest which saw 16 lead changes over the first 20 minutes, the Storm were able to pull away at the close of the second quarter, using a 15-5 run to take a 46-35 lead to halftime. The Fever chipped away and made it a seven-point game on a three-pointer with 2:55 to go in the third quarter. But it was all Seattle the rest of the way.

An offensive rebound and putback by Charles ignited a 19-4 Storm run with all 19 points coming in just 2:51 of game play. The run was bookended by Charles three-point plays, with the newly-signed center also adding a traditional three-pointer midway through. The 15-point run put Seattle up 80-58 in the early seconds of the fourth quarter and the Storm didn’t look back.

Seattle had an off night from three-point range, connecting on just 6-of-24 (25%) from distance. However, the Storm more than made up for it by scoring a season-high 52 points in the paint. Williams had all 14 of her points in the paint to pace Seattle while Charles and Magbegor combined for 18.