In her pregame session Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said her team needed to play good defense, defend the perimeter, and take care of the ball. The Storm had 16 turnovers to the Mystics 14 but that stat was inconsequential.
The stat that mattered outside of the final score was the team’s 28 defensive rebounds. The Storm outrebounded the Mystics 33 to 27, the team’s work on the defensive end ignited a scoring spree that saw the team shoot a torrid 61.7 % from the field. That mark was the second-highest in team history.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 19 points to lead the Storm who had five players score in double figures and notched a season-high four assists. Ball handling was another key stat. The Storm had 27 assists with Sklyar Diggins-Smith leading the way with a season-high nine assists to accompany her 16 points
SLOPPY DEFENSIVE PLAY
After bolting out to a 25-15 first-quarter lead the Storm played lethargic defense and were outscored 26 to 26 in the second quarter by the Mystics. The lackluster defensive effort in the second quarter was followed by a passionate halftime speech by head coach Nolle Quinn
The passionate speech ignited the Storm team and Ezi Magbegor who scored a team-high 10 points on a perfect 4-4 shooting from the floor. The team made 10 of 13 field goals and was a perfect 4 of 4 from the three-point line. More importantly, the Storm held the Mystics to just 18 points in the quarter.
SHUTTING DOWN THE OPPONENT
The Storm continued to play lockdown defense and held the Mystics to just 10 fourth-quarter points while making 9 of 13 shots from the floor, 3 of 6 from the arc, and 4 of 5 free throws to make it a 25-point quarter.
“ To allow 28 points in the second half is a very good defensive effort,” said Quinn after the game.” I thought there were moments, we could have gone the other way, we tightened up and understood those moments in the game and in previous games, we would have let it slip away. It was a great defensive effort. “
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
STORM HIGHLIGHTS
- The Seattle offense went off in the second half, shooting 73.1% (19-of-26), its highest field-goal percentage in a half since 2008. The Storm was 7-10 from three-point range in the 2nd half.
- Nneka Ogwumike finishes with 19 points on 8-12 shooting. She also notched a season-high four assists and added four rebounds. Ogwumike has scored 85 points in her first four games in a Storm uniform and is shooting 63.2% (36-of-57) on the season.
- Ezi Magbegor finished with a season-high 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, adding six rebounds and three blocks. She has recorded 2+ blocks in seven-straight games dating back to last season, tied for the longest streak of her career.
- Skylar Diggins-Smith notched 16 points and a season-high nine assists, the most in a game since recording 11 on July 31, 2022.
- Sami Whitcomb had season-highs of 12 points and five assists, hitting 4-of-5 from three-point range.
- Mercedes Russell recorded a season-high seven rebounds to go along with six points.
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