The Minnesota Lynx took advantage of a lethargic effort by the Storm on both ends of the court. The new-look Storm lineup of Victoria Vivians, Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins Smith, Ezi Magbegor, and Jewell Loyd went quietly into the night after outscoring the Lynx 28-26 in the first quarter. The Lynx outscored the Storm in the last three quarters 57 to 42.
A strong and aggressive Lynx team could knock Storm handlers off the ball, jump passing lanes, and out-hustled a home side that was overthinking each pass, shot, and dribble.
“Just uncertainty. I don’t think there was a lot of aggressiveness we weren’t certain and assertive in certain actions. They were able to run us of our routes, “ Head coach Noelle Quinn said in her post game interview. “ Those things occurred and we couldn’t kind of navigate that.”
The inability to navigate and adjust to the Lynx’s aggressiveness translated to a dismal shooting for the team as a whole. Nneka Ogwumike’s 20 points led the team and she was the only Storm player who had a good shooting night from the floor. Ogwumike was 10-18 from the field. The rest of the starting five did not fair as well. Ezi Magbegor was 5 of 10 and scored 15 points. Skylar Diggins-Smith and Jewell Loyd each finished the game with ten points. Diggins-Smith was 4-13 from the field and Loyd was 3 of 19. Diggins-Smith dished out six assists. The Storm scored 16 points in the second and third quarters and made matters miserable with a disappointing 10-point fourth quarter.
READY TO MOVE ON
The loss was disappointing and sent home a Storm crowd that was confused but still believed in their team. The players had a similar reaction. Yes, the team lost its home opener but one game does not a season make.
“I think that we have no choice but to fix that. It’s something that we talked about and half throughout the second half, Ogwumike said after the game. “ It’s a new team new, you know, new flow and people getting acclimated with each other, which I mean, I feel like in the last two weeks, we’ve really evolved as a team and there has been a lot of great days of that communication.”
KEY STATS OF THE GAME
- Skylar Diggins-Smith concluded her Storm regular season debut with 10 points and six assists. Her six assists are tied for the most by a Storm player in their team debut (Sue Bird also had six assists in her debut). Of her six assists, three went to fellow Storm newcomer Nneka Ogwumike.
- Ogwumike’s nine rebounds were tied for the most in a Storm team debut.
STORM HIGHLIGHTS
- Nneka Ogwumike had a team-high 20 points and added nine rebounds and two steals. Over a stretch between the third and fourth quarters, she scored 10-straight points for the Storm.
- Ezi Magbegor finished the night with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, narrowly missing a double-double with nine rebounds. She is just two field goals shy of 500 for her career.
- Jordan Horston notched her 250th career point to become the 42nd player in Storm history with 250+ points. She finished the evening with eight points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists.
- Seattle was just 1-of-9 from three-point range, marking the first time the team attempted fewer than 10 threes since June 11, 2019.
LYNX HIGHLIGHTS
- Alanna Smith ended the night with a team-high 22 points, a career-high and second career 20-point game.
- Napheesa Collier added 20 points, pushing her past 2,100 for her career.
- Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak in season openers with tonight’s win.
- Cautious Return for Cal Raleigh After Injury Absence
- Dante Fowler Jr Joins Seahawks: A Veteran’s Role
- Mariners do right by Randy Johnson with statue to honor his legacy
- Cal Raleigh’s Injury: Latest News and Prognosis
- Seattle Sounders Struggle with Finishing in Draw
CREDIT PHOTOS TO LIV LYONS
Discover more from Cascadiasports.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
