Brenna Stewart scored 21pts, pulled down 10 rebounds, and recorded a career playoff-high eights assists to lead the Storm to a 97-84 win over the Washington Mystics Sunday afternoon at Climate Pledge Arena. Using the electric atmosphere generated by the crowd, the Storm took an early 5-2 lead.
AGGRESSIVE START
While the lead was short-lived it served as a backdrop for what was to come. It was Sue Bird who set the tone and led the charge for the Storm. The Storm continued to be aggressive in the transition game which left the slow-footed Mystics behind. Sue Bird was a perfect 3-3 from the perimeter and her red-hot shooting ways helped the Storm to a ten-point lead after the first quarter.
SLOWED DOWN SECOND QUARTER
The second quarter was quite a different story. The Mystics slowed the came down stiffing the Storm’s ability to get out in transition. With the slowed and physical pace, the Storm became lethargic in their defense and offensive halves. On Defense, the Storm allowed the Mystics wide-open three-point shoots. The Mystics were 7 of 13 from the Arc. The slowed-down half-court game saw the Storm slow to move the ball around the half-court. The result was a struggling offensive showing. The Storm was outscored 19-16 in the quarter. The Storm was able to hang to a slim 45-43 halftime lead.
PATIENT SECOND HALF
The slim lead by the Storm quickly vanished with the first Mystics shot to start the second half. Mystics guard Ariel Atkin’s three-pointer gave the visitors a 45-46 lead. From that point on the two teams went back and forth until midway in the quarter. The Storm went back to moving the ball around the perimeter on offense resulting in a 9-0 run that saw the Storm take a ten-point lead at 63-53 with 4:05 left.
On the defensive end of the floor, the Storm continued to send multiple double teams at Mystic star player Elan Delle Donne. With Delle Donne playing passer the only other player to score consistently for the Mystics was Natasha Cloud. The double punch by the Mystics was not enough to overcome the Storm’s offense that had all the starters record double figures. The Storm outscored the Mystics 26-18 in the third quarter.
The Mystics outscored Storm 26 to 23 in the fourth quarter, but it was a calculated strategic adjustment by the Storm. In the first three-quarters of the game, the Storm was jamming Delle Donne and forcing her to pass, and giving up the three-pointers. In the fourth quarter, the Storm was more intentional in guarding the three-pointers while continuing to push the ball up the court and being patient with their shot selection. The Storm lost the fourth-quarter point battle but won the possession battle which lead to the two-game sweep of the Mystics.
With the win, the Storm advances to the WNBA Semifinals for the third time in the last five seasons, playing at the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, August 28, at 1:00 p.m. PT.
GAME NOTES
STORY OF THE GAME
- Seattle scored 97 points against the WNBA’s defensive leader during the regular season, outscoring Washington 52-41 in the second half to pull away for a 97-84, series-clinching win.
- With the sweep over the Mystics, the Storm reach the WNBA Semifinals for the third time in the last five seasons, winning its first-ever series as a No. 4 seed.
KEY STATS OF THE GAME
- Seattle outshot Washington 55.6%-44.6% from the field, recording its third-best FG% in a playoff game behind games in 2010 and 2020—both seasons Seattle won a WNBA title. It also marked the second-consecutive game the team shot 50%+ and the ninth time in a playoff game in franchise history with four of those coming against Washington.
- Breanna Stewart was two assists shy of a triple-double, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while contributing two steals and one block. Stewart is the fourth player in WNBA playoff history with 20+ points, 10+ rebounds and 8+ assists in a playoff game (Cappie Pondexter, 2007, Candice Parker, 2016, and Alyssa Thomas, 2020).
- Seattle outscored Washington 15-4 in points off turnovers despite a similar number of turnovers (SEA 8, WAS 10). The Storm also turned the ball over just one times
- All five Storm starters scored in double-figures for the fourth time in a playoff game in team history with each starter recording at least five field goals made for the first time.
STORM HIGHLIGHTS
- Breanna Stewart scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half after going without a field goal in the first half for the first time in 18 career playoffs games. She also tallied 20+ points for the 15th time in those 18 playoff games and has now scored in double-figures in every career playoff game.
- Jewell Loyd scored 19 points including hitting a career playoff-game high of five three-pointers. Going back to game one, Loyd scored 18 points over a 10:26 span (4:52 in 4Q Game 1 through 5:34 of 1Q in Game 2) Loyd went 6-of-8 from the field (4-of-6 from 3pt range) and scored 18 points.
- Sue Bird recorded her sixth career playoff double-double with 18 points and 10 assists, adding four rebounds and two steals. It is the 15th time a player has recorded 18+ points and 10+ assists in a playoff game with Bird now doing it twice.
- Gabby Williams had 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting before being she left the game after suffering a hit to the head in the third quarter. She would leave and not return after being diagnosed with a concussion.
- Tina Charles scored 12 points and added five rebounds and three assists.
- Ezi Magbegor came off the bench to scored six points while adding five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
MYSTICS HIGHLIGHTS
- Natasha Cloud led the Mystics with 21 points, connecting 5-for-8 from the three-point line, while helping with six rebounds and six assists.
- Ariel Atkins followed right up with 15 points, leading the team in assists with seven, and helping with two rebounds and one steal.
- Elena Delle Donne also scored in double-digits (12) as did former Storm player Alysha Clark (10)
