By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker

Uncasville, CT - As a former WNBA MVP and champion who was a key figure on a perennial playoff team, Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike knows what it takes to reach the mountaintop. When speaking to reporters on Sunday after a 93-86 loss to the Connecticut Sun, she made it clear that her team wasn’t performing at the level necessary before embarking on the on a playoff run.

After allowing an average of 95.5 points in their last two matchups entering Tuesday, the Storm delivered one of their signature performances on both sides of the ball to take the season’s rubber match from the Sun, 71-64.

The victory snapped a two-game skid and was Seattle’s first win at Mohegan Sun Arena since June of the 2021 season.

Connecticut got off to a booming start with an 18-6 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter. Storm center Mercedes Russell ended a three-minute dry spell with a midrange jumper. Russell ended the night with a game-high +21, three rebounds, and three assists. Russell’s defense on the perimeter and safeguarding actions were vital in the win against a physical, lengthy Connecticut roster.

Enduring yet another slow start in the paint in the first quarter, Seattle was limited to two shots at the rim. Instead of rushing their offense when presented with the Sun’s strategy of packing the paint, the Storm turned it into an advantage by shooting 3-for-5 in the midrange off quality looks.

Russell’s jumper sparked a 7-0 run as the Storm trimmed a once 12-point deficit to five, 18-13.

Since the starters didn’t start the game aggressively, Storm coach Noelle Quinn made a line change in the latter half of the opening frame, which gave the team a new wind in competition.

At +6 in 44 minutes of play, the five-player lineup featuring Sami Whitcomb, Jewell Loyd, Jordan Horston, Ezi Magbegor, and Mercedes Russell was the second-most efficient lineup used Tuesday night. Surrendering only nine points in that stretch, this group was the backbone of a true team win.

Shooting just 37.5 percent from the field and going 1-for-6 from deep, Seattle roared back to life in the second quarter, outscoring the Sun 21-13. Ogwumike led the charge with six points on 3-for-3 shooting. Before fouling out late in the fourth quarter, she finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

It was a team effort in the second quarter that brought Seattle back, but the efforts of Horston gave the team a resounding display of decisive playmaking and three-level defensive ability that was sorely needed. After trailing by as much as nine, the Storm mounted a 14-2 run to end the first half with a three-point lead, 34-31.

The Storm’s efficiency in staying home in their one-on-one matchups instead of a switch-heavy attack played a monumental role in their second-half showing. On ball screens on Sunday, Seattle struggled with defending separate actions produced off them.

That changed Tuesday night, which allowed Ogwumike and Magbegor to stay home in the paint, thus amplifying their perimeter schemes and forcing Connecticut into less-than-favorable shots all night long. This wrinkle was effective to say the least as the Sun was limited to 34 points in the paint compared to the 56 scored on Sunday.

Besides two ties in the third quarter, Seattle led the rest of the way. They finished the frame on a 9-2 run to go up 55-48. Gabby Williams, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Nneka Ogwumike, and Jewell Loyd accounted for 19 of the team’s 21 points in the quarter.

Diggins-Smith scored the first six points of the fourth quarter, bringing the lead to 61-51. She ended the game with 18 points on 50 percent shooting, four rebounds, and three assists. The Storm had quality double-digit performances from four players, all of them from the starting lineup as every member of the five except for Ezi Magbegor scored in double digits while adding impressive numbers in other statistical categories.

Seattle turned the ball over on four consecutive plays halfway through the quarter, giving way to a 6-0 Sun lead and bringing the game within three points at 63-60. After a timeout, Storm coach Noelle Quinn orchestrated a splendid opportunity for a Diggins-Smith pull-up jumper.

At that point, the Storm sat in the driver’s seat and coasted the rest of the way.

What’s next?

Following tonight’s satisfying road win over the Connecticut Sun to complete two contests against them in a span of three days, the Seattle Storm continue their East coast road trip with a battle against the New York Liberty on Thursday, September 5th. That contest against the Liberty at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY will have a tipoff time of 4PM PDT and will be broadcast on FOX 13+ and Amazon Prime Video locally, or on the New York Liberty live livestream. It’s going to be a tough contest for the Storm as they battle the top squad in the WNBA, an opponent that they lost to the last time that they faced off just five days before this upcoming battle. Seattle hasn’t beaten New York since June 19th, 2022 in an 81-72 result, despite some tight battles during the 2023 season when the Storm were in a rebuilding year.

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Cover photo by Rio Giancarlo. Check out Circling Seattle Sports’ previous articles with photos by Rio Giancarlo, and his portfolio here.

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