By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Turnovers and lack of execution doom Storm in 93-72 loss to Tempo

 Turnovers and a lack of free-throw shooting were culprits in the Storm’s 93-72 loss to expansion side Toronto Tempo. The lack of three-point shooting was an uncontrollable factor for the Storm, who shot just eight free throws to the Tempo’s 33.

“ I thought we were being pretty aggressive. Remember,  there are different ways that you’re gonna get to the line, and it’s not always just a drive, sometimes it’s a post-up, sometimes it’s a screen,’  Storm head coach Sonia Raman said after the game. “Um, you know, so there’s a lot of different ways that the physicality kind of presents itself, and you know, overcoming 33 8 was definitely a challenge.”  

 The free-throw disparity was a big challenge for the Storm; more damaging were the self-inflicted wounds from turnovers. The Storm had 17 turnovers, the Temps 12. Making things worse was when the Storm had the turnover.

ANOTHER SLOW START

The Storm had another slow start, scoring just 13 first-quarter points. A strong second quarter saw the Storm outscore the Tempo 23-16 and go into halftime with a one-point deficit at 36-37. In the fruitful second quarter, the Storm made 10 of 19 field goal attempts, made 2 of 6 three-point attempts, and had just 4 turnovers.   Jordan Horston had six of her eight first-half points in the second quarter. Natisha Heiderman made four of seven field goal attempts to lead the Storm with 10 first-half points. The Storm made its only free throw attempt of the first half, which came on a three-point play by Jade Melbourne with 1:55 left.

STRONG START THEN A FATAL FOLD

The Storm started the third quarter with energy and determination on both ends.  The result was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams.  That all changed in the last four minutes of the quarter. With the score tied at 51, three consecutive turnovers and lethal execution on the offensive end saw the game turn on a dime.  The Tempo went on a 19-5 run and finished the quarter with a 14-point lead at 70-56. Another culprit in the  Storm poor ball handling was missing the easy shots they  had.

“ We had  some really good looks. And just our missed shots at the rim. We missed a  few more than we normally make ,’  Raman added .”  And between that and the turnovers, it  just made it really challenging in terms of being able to set our defense.”

The Storm were never able to mount much of a comeback, and the Tempo pulled away in the fourth quarter for their biggest win of the season and second over the Storm.

POST GAME NOTES

KEY STATS OF THE GAME 

  • Seattle recorded 29 made field goals, a season high. 
  • Seattle banked 36 points in the paint while the Storm defense held Toronto to 26 points in the paint, the lowest by an opponent this season. 
  • The Storm’s 21 assists connected for 49 of the team’s 72 points. 

STORM HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Natisha Hiedeman led the Storm with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting. She knocked down three triples and dished out a season-high seven assists. 
  • Jordan Horston finished in double figures for the first time this season, recording 15 points on 54.5% shooting, as well as four rebounds and four steals, a season high.  
  • Jade Melbourne added eight points and four assists.  

TEMPO HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Marina Mabrey led all Tempo players with 18 points and four assists. Kiki Rice, Brittney Sykes, Laura Juskaite and Maria Conde also finished in double figures. 

UP NEXT: The Storm wraps up its road trip in Dallas on Monday, June 1, with a 5 p.m. PT matchup against the Wings. The game will be broadcast nationally on USA Network, locally on the CW Seattle and available to stream on Prime for users in Washington State. 

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