By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker

Seattle, WA - Clutch time in basketball represents the last five minutes where the score is within five points. With ten games remaining in the 2024 WNBA regular season, the Seattle Storm enter a similar period as the playoffs loom closer. The ending to a tumultuous yet productive debut season for Seattle’s “Core Four” will be an arduous one.

Still, Storm head coach Noelle Quinn is cognizant of her team’s current standing. Presented with the opportunity of clinching a playoff berth with a win tonight or an Atlanta Dream loss, Quinn’s group embraces the opportunity to shape their immediate future.

According to Tankathon, Seattle has the third-toughest schedule remaining in the league. It includes two matchups with the WNBA’s best New York Liberty, including Friday night’s game at Climate Pledge Arena. The schedule rounds out with two games against the Connecticut Sun and single outings versus the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury.

In their last ten games, the Storm will be on the road for six of them in what will be a difficult gauntlet that should prepare them for a postseason run.

The Seattle Storm starting five group on the floor as they locked down a tight win over the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday, August 28th at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Kevin Ng)

A Strong Finish

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish is how the saying goes. In Seattle’s case, it captures the essence of their season in a nutshell. After losing the three of their first four games, the Storm went on a six-game game win streak, it’s longest such run since 2021. Seattle then proceeded to lose three of their next five games while enduring a bout of adversity while developing chemistry on the fly as most newly assembled teams experience.

The longest homestand in WNBA history came at the best time for the Storm as they won seven of nine games within the friendly confines of their home, Climate Pledge Arena. A win on the road over the Los Angeles Sparks as former franchise cornerstone Nneka Ogwumike made her return to a team and city she called home for the first 12 years of her career helped cap off the schedule for the Storm before the Olympic break brought the WNBA season to a pause.

Since returning from the break, Seattle is experiencing it’s latest rough patch at the wrong time of the season. While time is not on their side, it goes without saying that a month-long pause with four players absent due to the 2024 Paris Olympics isn’t exactly the best ingredient for a team still looking to find their stride.

To most, these are viable reasons for the recent struggles. To the Storm, from the coaching staff down to the players, they see them as excuses. After the spirited win over the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday, they are playing like a team with something to lose. With the Liberty in town tonight, that same energy is needed throughout the rest of the regular season and into the postseason.

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