Seattle, WA – In their second game of the 2023 season and their new era in franchise history, the Seattle Storm dropped a tight contest against the Dallas Wings at Climate Pledge Arena in front of 8,277 fans. Much different than their 41-point historically poor loss to the Las Vegas Aces, Seattle was able to Storm back against the Wings after Dallas controlled most of the game. There was an opportunity in the dying seconds of the contest, when Seattle had a potential rebound to regain the ball down one possession slip through their fingers. Wings forward Satou Sabally grabbed the loose ball that could’ve tied things up for the Storm on the other end and put it up for a quick-two to double their lead and essentially end the game with 4.8 ticks left. It’s a frustrating result for Seattle, after battling back hard to get into this game, but nice to see that push at all.
“There was more fight, I think we were a little bit more comfortable. We had a really great week of practice. People were committed to just getting better. And, you know, that’s what you want to see. It’s obvious you want to get a win. But at the same time, you need to see the growth and improvement and I think that we could practice, watching film breaking it down, and I’m gonna get action shots, and extra conditioning,” Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm shooting guard, on tonight’s loss.
Like their season opening loss to the Las Vegas Aces, the Storm were able to find some energy going into the beginning of the game to get them started on an eight-point run. Veteran point guard Yvonne Turner again led the Seattle attack, as the Storm were able to spread the offense around this time. Couple that with Seattle stymying the Wings attack out of the gate and contesting multiple Dallas shots, and the Storm were able to start things off well. It was eerily like the team’s opening quarter against the Aces, and this first quarter ended just like that one against Las Vegas. Seattle started to fade, as Dallas got in the paint and started to dictate the pace of the game while having guard Arike Ogunbowale on the perimeter to knock down shots when the opportunity presented itself. If these first two games are any indication of things being a trend, Seattle will need to sustain these hot starts going forward if they want to get any success this season.
After an eleven-point differential at the halfway mark, the Storm battled back and brought the fight to the Wings throughout the second half and even outscored Dallas in the fourth quarter. Jewell Loyd, the best player on this Storm team, hit hard shot after hard shot while veteran guard Sami Whitcomb found her spark to help. Kia Nurse, who had only played three minutes in the second half of game one, found her game as well as she exploded for 20 points to put three of the Seattle starters in double digits. Getting that sort of support for Loyd, who will undoubtedly be the leader of this team, will be huge if the Storm want to win any games this year.
“I just think people are just getting comfortable. And every day I see their faces, you know, how they walk in the locker room, how they come to practice, like they’re getting more confident, but it takes some time. We have to be patient. We were better today than we were last game, right? You see little bits and pieces coming together. We’re gonna build off this and, you know, we’ll get there for sure,” Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm shooting guard, on establishing a new identity.
The Storm continue their three-game homestand to begin the 2023 season, hosting former franchise legend Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty. That game will take place on Tuesday, May 30th with a 6PM PST Tipoff being broadcast on ESPN2. Seattle has another tough test on their hands within their first three contests, as they’ll host the two mega-super teams in the WNBA in the Aces and Liberty. It’s a rude awakening for the Storm, who are trying to get some younger players integrated into their system and establish a new identity, and it’ll be an immediate trial by fire. Taking into consideration the fight and energy that Seattle showed in this loss, there’s reason to believe their season won’t be full of blowouts, but it’s going to be very tough to beat New York.
