A horrendous scoring drought from the 4:11 mark in the third quarter to the 3:49 mark in the fourth quarter turned a highly competitive game in favor of the Indiana Fever. The visiting Fever reeled off a 17-0 run for the easy 80- 68 victory over the hapless Storm. In Tuesday’s loss to the Connecticut Sun, the Storm went 3-17 in the third quarter. Add the two games together and one can easily deduce that the Storm have a scoring problem. An inability to find the energy to move the ball, set screens, and take good shots on the offensive end.
“It is human nature to try and fix things on your own I told the players that we are not built like that. we are best when we are screening, and moving the ball, “
Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said after the game.
As much as she tried Quinn could not hide her disappointment in the team’s effort when struggling on the offensive end.
A GOOD GAME TO START
A contest that featured the Eastern Conference Player of the Week in rookie Aliyah Boston and Western Conference Players of the Week Jewell Loyd lived up to the billing to start the game. The teams were deadlocked at 23 after the first quarter. It was a fast-paced end to end quarter that saw four lead changes.
The second quarter was a repeat of the first with Loyd and Boston finding their shots. Ivan Dojkic led the Storm in scoring with eight points and a perfect two for two from the Arc. Nalyssa Smith scored 10 for Fever making four of five field goal attempts and a perfect 1-1 on from the three-point Arc and free throw line. There were eight lead changes in the quarter and when the horn sounded to end the first half the Fever lead by four at 48-44.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END
All seemed well for the Storm when they outscored the Fever 15-10 to take a one-point lead at 59-58 with 4:11 to go in the third quarter. Things aren’t as they always seem and for some unknown reason the Storm seemed to have lost all of its energy as the Fever went on the fateful 17-0 run to seal the game
BIG TAKE
A visibly disappointed Noelle Quinn admitted that for the first time this season her team had taken a step back in their curve. In her postgame interview, Ivan Dojkic admitted the team has to find a way to create energy when they hit a scoring drought. This is a young team that is learning how to win. One of the hardest lessons in learning how to win is finding the energy, determination and will when things are not going as planned
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GAME NOTES
BY THE NUMBERS
–The Storm had just 10 turnovers, tying for their second-lowest total of the season. They yielded just seven points off of those turnovers.
–At the other end, Seattle converted 20 Indiana turnovers into 16 points.
—Ezi Magbegor’s 18 points was her 10th double-digit night in 12 games.
— Ivana Dojkic finished with 11 points, putting her in double figures for the fifth time in the past six games.
— Led by NaLyssa Smith’s 14 and 11 from Aliyah Boston, Indiana dominated the boards, 47-29.
UP NEXT
Seattle winds up a three-game homestand on Saturday against the Phoenix Mercury, tipping off at 6:00 p.m.
—— StormBasketball.com ——
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL | HIGH PTS | HIGH REB | HIGH AST |
| INDIANA | 23 | 25 | 19 | 13 | 80 | K. Mitchell, 25 | N. Smith 14 | 3 Players, 5 |
| SEATTLE | 23 | 21 | 15 | 9 | 68 | J. Loyd, 19 | M. Russell, 8 | I. Dojkić, 6 |
STORY OF THE GAME
- In a game which featured five ties and 14 lead changes through 2-1/2 quarters, Seattle took a 59-58 lead on a three-pointer from Kia Nurse with 4:11 to go in the third quarter. However, that would be Seattle’s last points over the next 10:23 as Indiana used a long 17-0 run to break open the game en route to an 80-68 win.
KEY STATS OF THE GAME
- Despite the long scoreless drought which saw Seattle go 0-for-22 over that 10:23 stretch, the Storm stayed relatively close by forcing 11 of Indiana’s 20 turnovers over that run. Seattle tallied 16 points total off turnovers but just four of those came off the final 11.
- Seattle was outrebounded 47-29, as Indiana’s NaLyssa Smith and Aliyah Boston combined for 25 boards, with 14 and 11, respectively.
STORM HIGHLIGHTS
- Jewell Loyd scored a team-high 19 points with 13 of those coming in the first quarter. Loyd, who leads the league in scoring averaging 25.5 ppg, has now scored 281 total points through the first 11 games, the second-most through a player’s first 11 games of a season in WNBA history.
- Ezi Magbegor scored 18 points, marking her fourth-consecutive game in double figures, adding six rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
- Ivana Dojkić tallied 11 pointsmarking her fifth time scoring in double-figures over her last six games. Dojkić tacked on a team-high six assists and contributed five rebounds along with a pair of steals.
- Mercedes Russell led the Storm in rebounds pulling eight along four points, two assists and one block.
FEVER HIGHLIGHTS
- NaLyssa Smith recorded a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, and was one of four Fever players in double figures, including Kelsey Mitchell (25), Erica Wheeler (10), and Emma Cannon (10).
- Aliyah Boston contributed nine points, 11 rebounds, five assists and a pair of blocks, just her third game of the season scoring in single-figures.
NEXT GAME
Seattle closes out its homestand on Saturday, hosting the Phoenix Mercury at 6 p.m. PT at Climate Pledge Arena. The game will be broadcast on FOX 13+ and streamed on Twitter, Meta VR and Prime Video (WA).
