Seattle, WA – In another physical, challenging battle, the Seattle Storm fell to the Indiana Fever in a frustrating defeat. Seattle held strong throughout the first half, holding a lead over Indiana until a minute and a half were left in the third quarter. After that, things turned for the worse for the Storm, as the Fever went on a 17-point run that ran late into the fourth quarter. Seattle, like their loss to Connecticut just a few days ago, hit a speed bump offensively that ultimately hindered their ability to win this ballgame.
Through the first half, the Storm were able to avoid a poor start that they’d seen in a run of their past few games, trading baskets with a young and talented Fever team that somewhat mirrors this Seattle squad in ways. It was a balanced effort on both sides, as both starting fives seemed to trade baskets and each team got solid contributions up and down. Seattle seemed to have the offensive creativity flowing early, as Kia Nurse was very active, Ezi Magbegor continued to show strong paint presence, Ivana Dojkic flashed speed at the point guard position that earned her the starting job, Mercedes Russell was showing strength inside and Jewell Loyd was playing like herself. All seemed to be flowing well for Seattle, except perhaps some more stops defensively.
Seattle’s issue in their past two games, coincidentally against two teams that have more size than the Storm, has been a lull in offensive production in the second half. While Seattle was able to make a strong effort against the Sun to comeback, today’s deficit against the Fever put them in too much of a hole to try and crawl out of in the time left remaining in the game. After a Kia Nurse three-pointer with 4:11 to play in the third, Seattle had seemed to swing the momentum pendulum in their favor as they regained the lead for the first time in the middle of the second quarter. The offensive production had continued to spread across the starting five to that point, and it seemed like the Storm were finding the second gear that they needed to help them get over the hump.
“Couldn’t hit a shot. 21 missed shots, we can’t win games shooting 30% from the floor. I thought our defensive activity was fine. We were creating and generating turnovers and we’re taking contested shots and couldn’t hit a shot.” Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm head coach, on what happened in the third quarter.
“I think so. I mean, there is a point in the game where we got over a hump, got up at 59-58 and then from there, not good things happened. The rebounding was an issue, the things that brought us success we were not doing, and that is a sign of what this season is kind of for us. It’s just recalibrating, and yes on the growth chart, it does happen to go up and back and down and around for this group. We can’t do it. Just don’t have the luxury of making the same mistakes and this was the first time Yeah, I did feel like that,” Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm head coach, on if this loss felt like a regression as opposed to growth.
With two losses in their current homestand through as many games, the Storm aim to close out this current slate on a positive note when they play the finale of this three-game slate at Climate Pledge Arena. That game is on Saturday, June 24th, with a tipoff time of 6PM PST as the Phoenix Mercury come to town for the first time since their preseason battle back in May. That game will be broadcast on Twitter, FOX 13+, and Amazon Prime Video.
