By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Seattle Storm’s Rookie Star Shines in Tough Loss

The Seattle Storm’s (3-8) losing streak is at four games after Wednesday night’s 72- 68 loss to the Phoenix Mercury (3-8).  The Mercury entered the game on a six-game losing streak. On paper, it was a winnable game for the young Storm.  While they did not win the game, the Storm might have found a new star.  Rookie Awa Fam, the third overall pick in this year’s draft, started her first WNBA game and scored a career-high 18 points.

“I’m really, really pleased with Awa tonight,” coach Sonia Raman said. “She keeps growing every day. It’s really remarkable in this short amount of time how much she’s been able to process and take in what we’re giving her. The little bits we’re incorporating into what she does, then being able to really quickly transfer them and marry them to her own personal talents and gifts, bringing her game to us.

SAME OLD STORY

For all of Fam’s exploits, the Storm had another slow start, scoring just 15 first-quarter points. The Storm scored the first points of the game on Flau’jea Johnson’s three-pointer, then watched as the Mercury scored the next nine points.  The quarter ended with the Storm trailing the Mercury 21-15. Adjusted defense, off-ball movements, and good decisions on the offensive end saw the Storm outscore the Mercury 18-15 in the second quarter.  

The stifling defense saw the Mercury make four of 17  field goal attempts.  The Storm were 8 of 19 from the floor, with Natisha Hiedeman and Jordan Horston each scoring five points, and Fam had four to lead the Storm.  Fam and Johnson split the Storm’s first-half scoring honors with eight points each.   Mercury center Natasha finished the first half with 10 points after making all five of her field goal attempts.

 HOT SHOOTING THIRD QUARTER

Both teams found their shooting touch in the third quarter.  The Mercury were 7 of 15 from the field and saw each starter score at least 2 points. Alyssa Thomas,  Noemie Brochant, and  Natasha Mack each scored four points. For the Storm, which outscored the Mercury 22-16, the quarter belonged to Heideman, who scored 10 of the Storm’s 22 points. The quarter ended with the Storm leading 55-52.

FRIGID FOURTH QUARTER


The improved third-quarter shooting did not carry into the fourth quarter.  Both teams went ice cold.  Jordan Horston’s trey to start the quarter gave the  Storm their biggest and last lead of the game at 58-52. Mercury guard Monique Akoa Makani drained a three-pointer and made three free throws to give the visitors a 59-58 lead with 7:11 left in the game. Johnson made 2 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 59 -59. It was the Storm who closed the Storm would get on their way to a season-high fourth consecutive loss.  Kahlea Copper put the Mercury ahead 61-59 with 5:37 remaining, and they did not trail again. The Mercury outscored the Storm 13-9 to snap its six-game losing streak.

MOVING FORWARD

Up next for the Storm will be a two-game road trip against  Western Conference leaders, the Minnesota  Lynx  (  7-2) on  Saturday, then the defending  Las Vegas Aces ( 6-3)  on Monday. For Roman, the games will present challenges and also an opportunity for her team to grow.

“And that’s really our focus, being able to defend better without fouling, even out that free-throw discrepancy a little bit, and keep them off the glass, Roman said after her team’s loss to the  Mercury. “And then the same thing on the offensive end: we took some good stuff forward today and generated some really good looks. Being able to take care of the ball is probably the area, especially on the offensive end.”

KEY STATS OF THE GAME

  • The Storm held the Mercury to just 13.6% shooting from beyond the arc, the team’s lowest three-point percentage in a game this season.
  • Seattle’s 10 steals match a season-high for takeaways in a game.
  • The Storm tallied 11 fast break points, the second-highest scoring total so far this season.

STORM HIGHLIGHTS

  • Awa Fam set new career highs for points (18), field goal makes (9), assists (2) and blocks (2). She also tallied six rebounds.
  • Natisha Hiedeman finished in double figures for the third straight game, recording 15 points as well as four assists and two steals.
  • Flau’jae Johnson added nine points and four rebounds. Her five assists tied her career high. 

Discover more from Cascadiasports.net

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply