Storm clinch post-season berth with tough 82-77 win over Mystics

The Seattle Storm outlasted the Washington Mystics in a playoff-like atmosphere that could very well be a prelude to postseason series between the clubs. The two teams were tied for fourth going into the weekend back to back contests

 Seattle built a fourth-quarter lead, then fought to hold off a late charge by Washington, ultimately securing a key 82-77 win on Saturday afternoon in a battle between two teams who entered the game tied for fourth in the WNBA standings.  

The victory snaps a three-game road losing streak by the Storm (19-11) and gives Seattle the season series over the Mystics (18-12) with one game still to play tomorrow. The win also clinched a playoff berth for the Storm—its seventh-straight playoff appearance, 17th over the last 19 years and 18th overall. The 18 overall playoff appearances in 23 seasons are the second most among active franchises, trailing just the Los Angeles Sparks, who have 20 in 26 years in the league.

Breanna Stewart led the way with 18 points including four off free throws over the final 11 seconds of the game to seal the win. Jewell Loyd seemed unstoppable down the stretch, scoring seven of her 17 points in the fourth quarter including three acrobatic shots to keep Seattle in the game during the Mystics final push. Tina Charles, who will make her first playoff appearance since the 2017 season, tallied 16 points and narrowly missed her fourth-straight double-double, finishing with nine rebounds to go along with a pair of assists.

After a hard-fought first quarter, Washington came out firing in the second, building a nine-point lead at 28-19 two minutes into the period. Seattle rallied later in the quarter with a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 33-32 on an Ezi Magbegor cutting layup with 2:25 to go before the half. The two teams would match each other rest of the way and the game would head to halftime tied at 35-35.

In the third, neither team held a lead of more than four as they battled back and forth with a pair of Mystics free throws putting the home side up 55-54 at the 1:12 mark.

But Seattle took off at that point with Stephanie Talbot tying up the game on a free throw which started a 16-0 Storm run over the next 4:32 of the game, putting Seattle up 70-55 on a Talbot three-pointer with 6:28 to play. Seattle still held a 13-point lead with 4:18 to play as Loyd hit an off-balance, corner three to make it 73-60 when the Mystics started their furious finish. Washington would score on its next seven possessions, rattling off a 17-5 run capped by a three-pointer by former Storm guard Alysha Clark which made it a one-point game at 78-77 with 26.3 seconds to play.

A strange situation where Seattle was charged with a timeout despite no one calling for it forced the Storm to take the ball out at midcourt with 22.8 seconds left. That was followed by Loyd missing the inbounds pass after appearing to be held up by a Mystics player before the ball was thrown in, handing the ball back to Washington. But the Seattle defense held strong, forcing a miss on a layup attempt by Elena Delle Donne with 11.8 seconds to play, then—after a pair of free throws by Stewart—followed by with another stop as Ariel Atkins deep three-pointer rattled off with four seconds remaining.

The win gives Seattle a much-needed tiebreaker over Washington as the Storm secures the season series by winning the first two of three games between the two this year. Seattle and Washington entered the game tied for fourth in the WNBA standings. With the new WNBA playoff format awarding home court advantage to the top four playoff teams, the victory went a long way in securing home court for the Storm with six games remaining.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	SCORE	RECORD	HIGH PTS	HIGH REB	HIGH AST
SEATTLE	14	21	22	25	82	18-11	B. Stewart, 18	T. Charles, 9	S. Bird, 7
WASHINGTON	18	17	20	22	77	18-11	E. Delle Donne, 22	Austin, Hines-Allen, 10	N. Cloud, 11

 

STORY OF THE GAME

• After a 16-0 run starting near the end of the third quarter and stretching 3:30 into the fourth, Seattle held a 15-point lead at 70-55 with 6:30 to go in the game. But the Mystics responded with a 17-5 run, hitting a three-pointer with 26 seconds left to pull within one at 78-77. But the Storm made a pair of defensive stops and converted free throws to hold on for the win.
• The Storm punched its ticket to the WNBA playoffs with the win and also won the season series against Washington. It is Seattle’s 7th-straight playoff appearance, 18th overall and 17th in the last 19 seasons.

KEY STATS OF THE GAME

• In a battle of the WNBA’s top two defenses, Seattle’s defense held a slight edge today, forcing 16 rebounds and holding Washington to 41.8% shooting and just 30% from three-point range.
• The Storm also outscored the Mystics in the paint (34-32) and held a 19-17 edge in bench.

STORM HIGHLIGHTS

• Breanna Stewart scored a team-high 18 points extended her streak of games in double-digits to 27—the longest active streak in the WNBA. She also tallied five rebounds, including the final two for the Storm to secure ball possession in the final seconds, four assists, one steal and one block.
• Jewell Loyd scored 17 points with seven of those during a key stretch in the fourth quarter where she went 3-of-4 from the floor. She also contributed three rebounds, two steals and one assist.
• Tina Charles tallied 16 points, nine rebounds and two assists, narrowly missing her fourth-straight double-double.
• Sue Bird led the team in assists, dishing a total of seven which led to 16 Storm points, and scoring four of her own while recording a game-high three-steals.
• The Storm bench scored 19 points, with every player in the second unit dropping 3+ points: Ezi Magbegor (8), Stephanie Talbot (4), Epiphanny Prince (4) and Briann January (3).

MYSTICS HIGHLIGHTS

• Elena Delle Donne scored a game-high 22 points, 12 of those on 4-of-5 in the first half.
• Shakira Austin had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double while Natasha Cloud had 10 points and 10 assists.

NEXT GAME

The Storm stays in Washington for the second game of its back-to-back series, facing off again against the Mystics at Noon PT on Sunday, July 31. Fans can watch locally on Prime Video (Wash. only) and FOX13+.