By Rowan Schaberg, edited by Charles Hamaker

Seattle, WA - After two tough losses on the road, the Seattle Storm bounced back with a statement win against the top team in the league, the Connecticut Sun, in their first of a nine-game homestand. The 72-61 victory was the icing on the cake to the franchise’s 25th anniversary celebration game, commemorated by a postgame ceremony recognizing the top 25 players in Seattle Storm history. While Jewell Loyd led the Storm with 16 points, the scoring was incredibly evenly distributed, something that has been a key for the team this season. But, as always, defense was head coach Noelle Quinn’s number one priority and it clearly paid off. This win was the perfect way to kick off this important homestand that has the potential to put the Storm in a great position going into the Olympic break. 

Seattle Storm wing Jordan Horston was a vital player in tonight’s win over the Connecticut Sun at Climate Pledge Arena on June 23rd, 2024. (Photos by Kevin Ng)

JORDAN HORSTON RISES TO THE CHALLENGE

With Quinn’s bold choice to change up the starting lineup before this high stakes game, Jordan Horston made her first start of the season today. Horston started 17 games for Seattle as a rookie last season, but the off-season roster additions of veterans have since pushed her into an off-the-bench role. While Horston struggled with her confidence last season, as most rookies do, this game was proof that she has evolved immensely since the start of her professional career. Horston was tasked with defending the Sun’s leading scorer, DeWanna Bonner, and certainly rose to the challenge, holding Bonner scoreless during the first half and well under her scoring average. Offensively, Horston tallied 10 points and was the second highest leading rebounder for the Storm with seven, in addition to adding three assists and three steals. Quinn’s trust in Horston to perform in this way was evident and she certainly did not disappoint. It seems unlikely that this will be a permanent change to the starting lineup, however. Quinn clarified post-game that the change to the lineup and Victoria Vivians’ lack of minutes in this game was solely based on the plan for Horston to guard Bonner the entire game. The Storm’s coaching staff had a similar plan last season, as the starting lineup often changed depending on the specific game plan. As a starter or a reserve, Horston has proven herself as a vital part of this roster. 

The defensive effort by the Seattle Storm was a major factor in their win over the Connecticut Sun at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday, June 23rd, 2024. (Photos by Kevin Ng)

DEFENSE WINS GAMES

Quinn’s staff is known for their emphasis on defense and today, we saw why. At the half, there were no Connecticut players in double figures, an uncommon occurrence in such a strong team. The defensive plan for containing Bonner was extremely successful, holding her to only 9 points while she currently averages 16.7. With DiJonai Carrington coming off of a monster game against Las Vegas where she lead the team with 19 points and 6 rebounds, limiting her scoring was also an emphasis for Seattle today. Finishing with only 2 points and a -11 efficiency rating, safe to say that Quinn’s schemes were spot on. 

STUFFING THE STAT SHEET

As I mentioned before, Seattle’s scoring distribution was a large part of their success against Connecticut. All five starters scored in double figures, with Loyd leading all scorers with 16 points, still lower than her season average. But what is most fascinating is looking beyond the points column and into all of the other ways in which the Storm pulled off this upset win. Ezi Magbegor contributed nine rebounds, six of them defensive, in addition to Mercedes Russell’s four defensive rebounds. The Storm recorded ten more assists than the Sun, signaling their elite pass distribution and teamwork on the court. Looking beyond those main columns, all five Seattle starters had at least two steals each, as well as all being in double figures in plus/minus, while all playing at least 33 minutes each. Four of the five starters recorded one block each. Every section of the stat sheet has been accounted for, showing that this was truly a team win.

What’s next?

Following today’s big Sunday afternoon victory over the Connecticut Sun, giving them just their third loss of the season and the first head-to-head battle against them since 2021, the Seattle Storm will continue their historic nine-game homestand a few days from now. After a day off then two practice days, the Storm will battle the Indiana Fever for the third time this season when they host them on Thursday, June 27th at Climate Pledge Arena with a tipoff time of 7PM PDT that will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video, FOX 13+ / Amazon Prime Video - Seattle, MeTV Indianapolis. The first time these teams met was here in Seattle, as the Storm held on late to defeat the Fever despite a late push, and their last meeting in Indiana put a strong effort together in a blowout victory. After a rough start to the season, Indiana has had some time to get practice in and have been playing better since the beginning of the year, so this may pose as more of a challenge to Seattle than the earlier contests. After this big win over Connecticut, the Storm are looking to use this major homestand to build serious momentum for their season and surge further up the WNBA standings.

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