Storm click on all cylinders in a record-setting 109 to 69 win at LA

Seattle posted the best field goal percentage in franchise history and the sixth-best in WNBA history, heading to the all-star break with a dominating 106-69 win in Los Angeles on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.

The Storm improves to 15-8, moving into third in the WNBA standings and sitting just 1-1/2 games out of first place. Seattle also closes out a tough stretch which saw the team play five games in nine days in four cities. The Storm went 4-1 over that stretch, tallying 201 total points over the final two games.

Seattle shot 64.6% from the field, making 42-of-65 shots in the game, beating the old record of 61.5% set back in 2017. It also ranks as the sixth-best shooting percentage in WNBA history, and the best in the league since the Sparks hit 65.5% against Minnesota in 2020.  

The game was in stark contrast to last season’s final meeting between the two teams in LA, a game dominated by the Sparks who held Seattle to 53 points in an 81-53 drubbing. But the Storm doubled its total from that game while holding LA to 69 points in this season’s showdown in SoCal.

All nine Storm players made at least two field goals, collected at least one assist and shot at least 45% from the field, something which had never been done before in WNBA history. Breanna Stewart led the way, scoring 23 points in 24 minutes while connecting on 9-of-15 from the field. Tina Charles came off the bench to record 18 points—the most in five games in Storm uniform—while Jewell Loyd poured in 16 and matched a season-high with seven assists.

Ezi Magbegor recorded her second-straight double-double and third of her young career, scoring 10 points and adding 11 rebounds. She did not miss a shot in the game, shooting 4-of-4 from the field including 1-of-1 from three-point range, and converting her lone free throw attempt.

Stephanie Talbot contributed 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Gabby Williams also made 5-of-6 and finished with 11 points.

Seattle really struggled from the field in the first quarter, missing its first four shots of the game and making just 7-of-17 shots. However, the Storm still led 19-14 after the first quarter.

The Storm broke the game open in the second quarter, using a 14-0 run to go up 43-23 with 2:58 in the half. Seattle would outscore the Sparks 32-18 in the quarter and took a 51-32 lead to halftime. The 51 points matched the Storm season-high for points in the first half, last tally that many when the two teams met in Seattle on May 20. In addition, Seattle shot 75% (12-of-16) from the field in the quarter—its best shooting quarter in nearly two years.

Los Angeles opened the second half with a quick run to pull within 14 just under three minutes in. But Seattle weathered the attack, outscoring LA 28-26 in the quarter, once again connecting on 75% (12-of-16) of its shots from the field (including 11-of-12 from two-point range) to match its best quarter of the season set in the prior quarter.

The Storm returns to action after Sunday’s All-Star game, hosting the Dallas Wings on Tuesday, July 12, in the team’s annual Kids Day game, tipping off at Noon PT.  

—— StormBasketball.com ——

TEAM	1	2	3	4	SCORE	RECORD	HIGH PTS	HIGH REB	HIGH AST
SEATTLE	19	32	28	27	106	15-8	B. Stewart, 23	E. Magbegor, 11	J. Loyd, 7
LOS ANGELES	14	18	26	11	69	10-12	L. Brown, 16	Four players, 4	J. Canada, 4

 

STORY OF THE GAME

• Seattle shot a franchise record 64.6% from the field while recording the sixth-best field goal percentage in WNBA history, surpassing the 100-point mark for the first time this year in a 106-69 win in Los Angeles.
• The 37-point margin of victory was the fifth largest in Storm history and the 106 points scored were the most by Seattle since pouring in 107 vs Dallas on Sept. 9, 2020.
• Seattle had a six-point advantage at the eight-minute mark in the second quarter when the Storm used a 20-5 run to open a 20-point lead and never looked back.

KEY STATS OF THE GAME

• For the first time in WNBA history, all nine Storm players had at least two made baskets and at least 1 assist while shooting 45% or better from the field. (Thanks to Em Adler and AcrossTheTimeline.com)
• The Storm bench scored a season high 41 points on 17-of-26 shooting (65.4%).
• The Storm scored a season-high 54 points in the paint, shooting 28-39 (71.8%) in the paint. The Storm has now scored 106 paint points over its last two games.
• Ezi Magbegor recorded her second consecutive double-double and third of her career with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She did not miss at shot, going 4-4 from the field (1-1 3pt) and 1-1 from the line.

STORM HIGHLIGHTS

• Breanna Stewart scored a team-high 23 points—including 19 in the first half, adding four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. She scored 79 points total (26.3 ppg) in three games vs LA this year.
• Charles scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting while adding two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Charles has connected on 13-of-18 from the field and scored 31 points over her last two games.
• Jewell Loyd poured in 16 points and added seven assists, three rebounds and two steals.
• Stephanie Talbot contributed 13 points (11 of those in the fourth quarter) and grabbed four rebounds.

MILESTONES

• Stewart recorded her 500th career assist, becoming the 2nd-fastest Storm player to 500 (Sue Bird).
• Loyd reached 750 assists becoming the 32nd player in WNBA history with 3,500+ points, 800+ rebounds, 750+ assists and 250+ steals. Loyd, who played her 239th game at 28 years, 275 days old, is the third youngest player and the sixth-fastest to reach the plateau.

NEXT GAME

The Storm returns to action after Sunday’s WNBA All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 12, hosting the Dallas Wings at Climate Pledge Arena for a midweek matinee tipping off at Noon