Storm struggle with rebounds in loss to Wings, but officiating the story as injuries to both teams play a factor
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Returning home from a three-game road trip that saw them snap their franchise worst ten-game losing streak to come into tonight’s contest with a two-game win streak, the Seattle Storm fell to the Dallas Wings. Seattle struggled with the paint presence and size of Dallas all night, in an otherwise close game that they were in the whole way through. The Storm battled to get this contest within single digits on multiple occasions, but as has been the case throughout 2023, Seattle was unable to close the gap and ultimately dropped their 20th loss on the season. These sorts of growing pains and struggles should in theory make this team better going forward, in terms of growth and progression, but in the current moment frustration mounts.
Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd and Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale battled all night long (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Loyd leaves early, only to return for another big night
Storm star shooting guard Jewell Loyd left this game early as she suffered a turned ankle after a closeout from a Wings player. Loyd was on the court for a few minutes after the play had occurred, which was a jumper made by Jewell, before having to be helped off the Climate Pledge Arena court by two team staff members into the locker room. Play would resume afterwards, with the consensus being that this injury was bad and likely was going to keep Loyd out of the rest of the game, but Jewell returned just five minutes later. As per usual, Loyd was the best Storm player on the court as she went on to tally 31 points in this game to outduel Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (27 points) but Jewell struggled with shot selection along the way, shooting 39% from the field. Taking into account the physical battle that Loyd endured by suffering that injury and throughout the game plus the lack of scoring from the rest of Seattle’s roster, it’s hard to be upset with Jewell’s performance.
Paint pain continues
Seattle’s struggles in the paint, whether that be their points in the paint or their issues with rebounding, have been apparent even dating back to last season when the team was making a run in the WNBA Playoffs to try and get Sue Bird a fifth and final title. The issue hasn’t been addressed consistently at any point during this season, at least to this point, and that continued tonight against a Wings team that rebounds well and is able to get second chance points off their offensive boards. It was one of Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn’s keys to the game, as stated in the pre-game press conference, and her Storm team failed to take care of that aspect of the game. Dallas scored 16 points off second-chance opportunities, which came in part due to their 17 offensive rebounds. For comparison, Seattle only had five offensive rebounds. Statistically points in the paint weren’t bad, as the Storm only lost in the stat by four points, but the general paint presence from Seattle must be better.
Turnover trouble
Another one of Storm head coach Noelle Quinn’s three keys to the game was her team taking care of the basketball, avoiding turning it over. Seattle also failed to do this, racking up 18 turnovers as Dallas tallied eleven steals on the night. The Storm have struggled this season with consistently taking care of the ball, as Seattle has looked to get more scoring besides their primary offensive leaders of Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor. With the limited success that the team has had offensively, many losses have seen the Storm defense play well but the offense fail to match, the Storm must take care of the ball better to get to an actual rhythm.
“That is how they play. They thrive off of their offensive rebounds and their second chance points, scoring off turnovers and we weren't very good in those areas today. 76 points though, you know what I mean? That's a winnable game, to hold a high-octane offense to 76 despite all those things happening. It shows progress, but we talked about it before the game. If we weren't going to do those things, we weren't going to have success today,” Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm head coach, on Dallas taking advantage of Seattle turnovers.
Quick notes
Tonight’s attendance for the Dallas Wings at Seattle Storm game was 7,421.
Seattle struggled on the boards as Dallas pulled down 44 rebounds to the Storm’s 30. The Wings held a 17-5 advantage on the offensive glass and outscored Seattle 16-4 in second-chance points.
Dallas forced Seattle into 18 turnovers, capitalizing off the Storm’s errors with 15 points while committing 17 and allowing the Storm just seven points off its turnovers.
Jewell Loyd contributed a game-high 31 points, plus five rebounds, a pair of assists, and a steal. It marked her third-straight game with 30+ points against the Wings this season and was her league-leading eighth of the season and 17th of her career.
Ezi Magbegor scored 14 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine, while adding one assist and one block. She has scored in double-figures in 21 games this season.
Gabby Williams and Sami Whitcomb combined for 14 points with seven apiece. Williams also contributed five assists, three rebounds, one steal and one block, while Whitcomb tallied four rebounds and three assists.
The Storm defense has held opponents to a league-low 40.1% FG shooting since the all-star break.
What’s next?
Following tonight’s loss to the Wings in a short one-game return home, the Storm head back out on the road for a quick trip down to Phoenix for a battle against the Mercury on Saturday, August 5th with a tipoff time of 7PM PST. It’ll be a battle of the two teams sitting at the bottom of the WNBA standings, as both the Storm and Mercury have only tallied six wins each. That game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video here in the state of Washington, as the Storm will try to get back in the win column before they return to Climate Pledge Arena for a four-game homestand.
