Storm hold on to win after late run from LA Sparks behind Breanna Stewart’s 28 points
By Bel Garcia
Seattle, WA - Once again, the key to the Seattle Storm winning was a stop late in the game as the clock expired. This time however, they had a commanding lead after the first quarter. A quarter in which they scored 39 of their 83 total points. It was only a matter of time before Liz Cambage found her shot and began to cause trouble down low. The Storm found themselves in some déjà vu, relying on a defensive stop to win the game.
New Season-High for Breanna Stewart
Breanna Stewart was an offensive force for most of the game, as her shots were falling from everywhere on the court. It was only her second game back from health and safety protocols. When asked what the difference between tonight and Wednesday night was, Breanna Stewart said it was all mental. She was no longer thinking about just having COVID and being away from the team for a week. Her mental toughness certainly helped the team early on as the confidence level of the Storm on offense fed off her. At the end of the first half, Stewie had 16 points to propel her team to a 51-41 lead. After a strong start to the 3rd quarter, in which she scored the first 7 points for the Storm, she notched a new season-high. Stewart ended the night with 28 points and a game sealing lay-up,. The only other Storm player in double figures was Jewell Loyd with 11.
Second Half Struggles
Coach Quinn described Liz Cambage as a “load”, and the game plan for a player of Cambage’s caliber was to congest the lane when the ball went to her and to throw bodies at her. Unfortunately, in the second half Liz was Cambage was getting a lot of clean looks with only Ezi Magbegor defending her. Let’s not take any credit away from Magbegor, who was one point away from her first season double-double. Her defense on Cambage to begin the game was phenomenal, she blocked Cambage on two back-to-back possessions. With a player of Liz Cambage’s caliber you can expect her to get hot at the right time. Cambage and Nneka Ogwumike brought the Sparks within 7 towards the end of the 3rd quarter. The Storm fought to keep the lead in the 4th quarter, with 2 minutes left in the fourth the Sparks were within 4 and kept it close until the end. We had a 3 point game with seconds left and Seattle was able to hunker down on defense. After a missed 3 pointer in the corner by Ogwumike, the Storm got to celebrate another win.
The Storm’s next contest comes on Friday, May 27th against the New York Liberty. Tipoff between the 3-3 Storm and 1-4 Liberty is at 7PM PST at Climate Pledge Arena. Sabrina Ionescu and the Liberty come into this game having lost their last four.