Hours after the team announced they had agreed to a contract extension with 2023 All-Star and two-time All-Defensive pick Ezi Magbegor the budding star showed her worth. Not that she had anything to prove, Magbegor nonetheless showed up and showed out in the team’s win over the Phoenix Mercury.
STRONG FROM THE START
The Storm faced a Phoenix team full of confidence after a win over the Los Angeles Spark. Mercedes Russell was inserted into the lineup due to a game-day scratch of Nneka Ogwumike who suffered an eye injury in practice. Between the absence of Ogwumike and the contract extension, Magbegor took matters into her own hands from the jump. Magbegor scored 13 first-quarter points to lead all scorers and outscore the Mercury who had just 12 points in the quarter. Storm head coach Noelle Quinn attributed Magbegor’s success to aggressiveness, ability to play in space, and energy level.
“ I thought her pace was really good and you all know she is our defensive anchor due to her agility, and aggressiveness and it jumpstarts our offense when we are playing in transition ”, Quinn said after the game. “ There is an energy level to her that we feed off on both ends of the floor.”
NOT SUCH A GREAT SECOND QUARTER
The Storm had somewhat of a defensive meltdown in the second quarter and allowed the Mercury to score 21 points while scoring 21 points A re-adjustment at halftime saw the Storm return to their stifling defense and hold the Mercury to just 10 points in the third quarter while scoring 18 to end the quarter with what looked like a comfortable 21point lead at 64-43.
DEFENSIVE EFFORT WINS THE GAME
A lack of execution saw the Storm struggle to score points early in the fourth quarter. They scored its first field goal of the quarter with 5:06 left in the game on a Jewell Loyd three-point basket. A continued commitment to team defense saw the Mercury cut the Storm lead to 14 points but no close as the Storm finished the game on an 8-4 run for the win. Despite the momentary fourth-quarter dry spell the win marked five consecutive victories for the Storm.
“It was a good game in the first half, but we can do better with finishing quarters,” Skylar Diggins-Smith said. “In the fourth quarter, we started with a struggle, but we held them. With no Nneka, we saw people stepping up and stepping into different roles. It was a great game for us to start out Commissioner’s Cup, holding them under 20 for three quarters (12 in the first, 10 in the third, 19 in the fourth).”
GAME NOTES
KEY STATS OF THE GAME:
- Ezi Magbegor finished with a season-high 21 points (9-13 shooting), adding nine rebounds and three blocks. Magbegor, who outscored Phoenix 13-12 in the first quarter, recorded her ninth career game with 20+ points. It was also her 10th straight game with 2+ blocks, tied for the 10th-longest streak in WNBA history.
- The Storm allowed just 62 points, its fewest allowed this season.
- The Storm perimeter defense held the Mercury to 4-23 shooting (17.4%) from three-point range. The Mercury led the WNBA in three pointers made coming into Tuesday night (95 triples in nine games).
STORM HIGHLIGHTS:
- Jewell Loyd filled out the stat sheet with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
- Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 17 points and four assists against her former team.
- Victoria Vivians added a season-high 10 points and tied a season-best seven boards.
- Tonight’s win marks the fifth straight for the Storm and the longest streak of Head Coach Noelle Quinn’s career (5-0).
MERCURY HIGHLIGHTS:
- The Mercury had twoplayers reach double digits, led by Kahleah Copper with 19 points and seven boards. Natasha Cloud added 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
MILESTONES:
- Jewell Loyd played her 9,000th career minute in the first half tonight. She is the 56th WNBA player with 9,000+ minutes played and, at 30 years, 244 days old, the sixth-youngest to achieve the milestone.
- Ezi Magbegor recorded her 750th career rebound tonight. At 24 years and 297 days old, Magbegor is the ninth-youngest of the 168 players in WNBA history to reach the 750-rebound milestone.
