The long-awaited return of Breanna Stewart ended with the former Storm star scoring 25 points and pulling down 10 rebounds as she lead her new team the New York Liberty to a 86-78 win over the Seattle Storm. The Storm took a brief 4-2 lead in the first quarter and just one other time in the second quarter at 34-35. The Liberty then went on an 8-0 run and the Storm was never able to close the gap. The close but not enough was the real story in the game The effort was there for the Storm. The talent gap and lack of execution was the difference in the game.
BIG THIRD QUARTER
The Storm cut the Liberty’s lead to just three points on three occasions but each time the Liberty answered with a run to stop any hope of a comeback by the Storm . Stewart had a quiet game until the third quarter in which she scored ten points to lead the Liberty.
The biggest issue for the Storm was on the offensive end. Each time they played good aggressive defensive they were unable to reward themselves on the offensive end.
“ Our inability to reward ourselves on the offense end hurt us to tonight. After playing good defense there were multiple times we turned the ball over tonight.”
Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said in her post-game interview
IMPROVING SIGNS
What this game came down to was the Storm’s inability to execute when the situation called for it. The effort was there but lack of familiarity with each other meant players hesitated on the offensive end. The hesitations allowed the Liberty to switch on defense forcing the Storm to take tough shots when they were not turning the ball over. Three games into the season and nothing to show for their efforts is not all bad for the Storm. The team continues to improve with each and every game. Two of the three teams the Storm have faced, the Liberty and Las Vegas Aces are picked to contend for the WNBA title. The Wings are second in the Western Conference behind the Aces with a 3-1 record
NOTHING BUT BEST WISHES
As for Stewart the fans, former teammates and coaches had nothing but best wishes for her. Those wishes will always be for when she is playing any team but the Storm.
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