Storm comeback falls short in 82-77 loss to Lynx

Per team release

MINNEAPOLIS – Gabby Williams scored 20 points – the sixth 20-point game of her career – and the Seattle Storm cut an early 15-point deficit all the way down to one, but fell to the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night, 82-77. 

Skylar Diggins added 18 points and Nneka Ogwumike had 11 points plus eight rebounds for the Storm. 

Seattle scored the first basket of the night before Minnesota ran for a 14-2. It grew to 15 by the end of the first quarter at 26-11. 

The difference was still 15 at 36-21 with 3:56 left in the half, that’s when the Storm started to chip away, getting as close as nine at 36-27 before going into halftime down by 10 at 39-29. 

A driving lay-in by Ezi Magbegor off a feed from Williams capped a 10-0 run and brought Seattle within one at 48-47 at the 2:37 mark of the third. Twice during the fourth quarter, the Storm again cut it to one, 54-53 at the outset and 60-59 with 6:49 still on the clock. 

The Lynx responded, going back up by as many as seven at 76-69 with 2:17 to go before hanging on in the final minute. 

Courtney Williams led Minnesota with 23 points. The Storm was able to clamp down on Napheesa Collier; she finished with 16 points, her lowest total of the season. 

UP NEXT 

The Storm is back home on Friday to host the Atlanta Dream in Climate Pledge Arena at 7 pm PT. 

TEAM	1	2	3	4	FINAL	HIGH PTS	HIGH REB	HIGH AST
SEATTLE	11	18	22	26	77	G. Williams (20)	E. Magbegor (10)	G. Williams (6)
MINNESOTA	26	13	15	28	82	C. Williams (23)	N. Collier (10)	N. Collier (5)

STORY OF THE GAME: Seattle opened the game with nine of its ten players receiving playing minutes. The Lynx led by as many as 15 points before Seattle went on a 7-0 run late in the second to make it a 10-point game at halftime. Seattle used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to get within three going into the final ten minutes. A strong fourth quarter, including eight points from Skylar Diggins and crucial free throws from Zia Cooke saw the Storm down just one possession in the final minute, but Minnesota held on for an 82-77 win.

KEY STATS OF THE GAME  

·       Seattle’s 10 rebounds in the first quarter were the team’s most in an opening frame this season. 

·       The Storm held the Lynx to 13 points in the second quarter, Minnesota’s lowest-scoring quarter of the season and kept the Lynx from scoring a single fast break point in the second half. 

·       The Storm secured a season-high 10 offensive rebounds. 

·       Seattle recorded at least 20 assists for the fourth consecutive game, which is the team’s second-longest such streak since 2022. 

STORM HIGHLIGHTS 

·       Gabby Williams led the team with 20 points and six assists on 53% (8-for-15) shooting from the field to go with four rebounds and two blocks, which tied her career high in blocks. Williams also added a steal and now has at least one steal in 50 of her 63 regular season games with Seattle (79.4%), which is the highest rate of any player with at least 50 games played in a Storm uniform. With her 10th three-pointer in the last four games, Williams set her new high for threes made over a four-game span in her career. 

·       Skylar Diggins finished with 18 points, three assists and three rebounds on 40% (2-for-5) shooting from deep. Diggins added two steals, including the 400^th takeaway of her career, to join Ticha Penicheiro and Sue Bird as the only players in WNBA history to reach 1,500 assists and 400 steals in under 300 games. 

·       Nneka Ogwumike posted 11 points and eight rebounds while grabbing two steals for the 190^th time in her career, which is the sixth-most multi-steal games in WNBA history. 

·       Ezi Magbegor recorded six points, 10 rebounds and three assists for her 25^th game with double-digit rebounds, the third-most such games in franchise history. 

·       Dominique Malonga scored two points and recorded the first assist of her career while becoming the youngest player in WNBA history to record at least three assists and three rebounds in under 12 minutes.  

LYNX HIGHLIGHTS 

·       Courtney Williams led all scorers with 23 points and added five rebounds and four assists. 

·       Napheesa Collier put up 16 points alongside 10 rebounds and five assists.  

UP NEXT: The Storm head home to Climate Pledge Arena for a three-game homestand. First up is a matchup against the Atlanta Dream on Friday, May 30 at 7 pm PT. The game will be broadcast nationally on ION. 

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