Seattle Storm Game Review: (Insert Dog Pun)

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*Jim Halpert Face*

The Seattle Storm had their worst offensive game of the season Sunday against the Atlanta Dream, losing 67-64 at home in KeyArena.

The Storm shot 33.8 percent as a team and connected on just four of their 26 attempts from beyond the arc. Natasha Howard had a double-double (15 points, 15 rebounds),  but it was mostly a night to forget for Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd, who combined for 26 points. Stewart played just 19:30 while battling foul trouble.

Tiffany Hayes led all scorers with 23 points, while the Storm mostly held Angel McCoughtry in check, as she shot 6-of-19 for 15 points.

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Seattle Storm Game Review: Party Like It’s 2015

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Current Mood

The Seattle Storm earned their biggest win of the season Thursday night against the Los Angeles Sparks, sweeping the Sparks aside 88-63 on the road.

Alysha Clark had a team-high 17 points, while Natasha Howard and Breanna Stewart chipped in with 16 points apiece. Jewell Loyd’s 10 points tied her season low, but that mattered little toward the final result.

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Jewell Loyd is Taking the All-Star Leap in 2018

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Mamba d’Or

The Loyd giveth and the Loyd taketh away. That basically sums up Jewell Loyd’s first three seasons in the WNBA.

Through three games last year, Loyd was averaging 26.0 points and shooting 57.7 percent from the field, including 61.5 percent from three-point range. Sure, it wasn’t a large sample, but it was enough to raise hope Loyd was on the cusp of a breakout.

Instead, the 2015 No. 1 overall pick finished 2017 averaging 17.7 points and hitting 43.1 percent of her shots. Loyd didn’t necessarily have a bad year, but one couldn’t help wonder whether she still had another level to reach—one where she could be an All-WNBA guard.

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Seattle Storm Game Review: Aces High

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The Seattle Storm’s new “Big Three”

After being outscored 19-10 in the fourth quarter, the Seattle Storm were able to hang on for a 101-74 win Thursday night against the Las Vegas Aces.

The Storm broke a WNBA record by hitting 17 three-pointers, which came on just 26 attempts. It was that kind of night for Seattle as the team could hardly put a foot wrong. Jewell Loyd scored 20 points, her fifth straight 20-point scoring game, while Breanna Stewart led the team with 21 points.

A’ja Wilson was excellent on offense (21 points), but the Aces continued to struggle with three-point shooting. Las Vegas was 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.

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Seattle Storm Game Review: Let’s Never Speak of This Again

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Screen Shot 2018-05-30 at 10.47.13 AMThe Seattle Storm are now riding a four-game winning streak after defeating the Washington Mystics 81-77 on Tuesday night.

Laboring to a close victory over a full-strength Mystics squad would’ve been a nice result for Seattle. Washington, instead, was without Elena Delle Donne and Natasha Cloud, while Tayler Hill is still recovering from a torn ACL. The Mystics had an opportunity to tie the game in the final seconds and force overtime.

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Seattle Storm Game Review(s): That’s Called a Winning Streak

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Big mood

The Seattle Storm moved to 3-1 on the weekend with wins over the Chicago Sky and Las Vegas Aces.

Seattle outscored Chicago 25-14 in the fourth quarter Friday night to force overtime and eventually prevail 95-91. The Storm’s game against the Aces was the direct inverse, as they found themselves trying to protect a late lead against a surging Vegas squad. The Storm held on for a 105-98 victory despite giving up 63 points in the second half.

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Seattle Storm Game Review: Griner Denied

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I’ve made a huge mistake

The Seattle Storm earned their first win of the 2018 season Wednesday night against the Phoenix Mercury, beating the Mercury 87-71 on the road.

Jewell Loyd was the game’s leading scorer, dropping 29 points on 9-of-14 shooting. She was also a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. Loyd’s big night helped offset an uneven performance from Breanna Stewart, who narrowly missed out on a double-double (nine points, 11 rebounds) but had four turnovers and shot 3-of-12.

Defensively, the Storm did well to limit Phoenix’s supporting cast. Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi had 18 and 23 points, respectively, but DeWanna Bonner (nine points) was the team’s next-highest scorer.

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Seattle Storm Game Preview: Her Again!?

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When you have to face Brittney Griner twice in four days

Upon visiting the Columbus Zoo to view the Christmas lights this past winter, our group was taken to the polar bear exhibit. The trainers informed us that while extremely cute, polar bears are killing machines and that you could survive for mere minutes—if that—were you to fall into their enclosure. There is no escape, there is nowhere to hide. The polar bears will find you and feast on you without remorse.

That’s kind of how it feels when you’re watching Brittney Griner. There’s an imminent sense of danger when she gets the ball on the low block or she’s standing anywhere inside six feet of the basket on defense. And there’s nothing you can do to stop her. Brittney Griner is inevitable.

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Seattle Storm Game Review: Scorcher VI

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Here we go again, again

The Seattle Storm opened their 2018 WNBA season with an 87-82 defeat to the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday night in a game that offered reasons for optimism while also serving as a reminder of the team’s flaws.

Breanna Stewart filled up the stat sheet with 22 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks. Jordin Canada had a nice WNBA debut, finishing with nine points, one assist and four steals. Jewell Loyd struggled to get going, though, shooting 3-of-11 from the field to score 10 points.

The Storm had an opportunity to force overtime late in the fourth quarter. They inbounded the ball down 85-82 with 3.2 seconds remaining in regulation, but Stewart stepped out of bounds to give the ball back to Phoenix and extinguish any comeback attempt.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the game.

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Seattle Storm Game Preview: May 20 vs. Phoenix Mercury

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When you’re ready for the season opener

The interminable wait is nearly over, as the Seattle Storm are set to open the 2018 WNBA regular season and continue what feels like a best-of-57 series with the Phoenix Mercury.

The Storm and Mercury have seen a lot of each other lately. Phoenix bounced Seattle out of the playoffs last year, and the two teams had a pair of preseason games earlier this month. And after Sunday’s game at KeyArena, they turn right around for a rematch Wednesday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Playing the Mercury not once but twice this early into the season can be both good and bad for the Storm.

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