Alysha Clark

The Morning After: Hollywood Divorce

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When you draw the Chennedy Carter assignment

The Seattle Storm hanged on to beat the Atlanta Dream 93-92 on Thursday night, and one rookie has the WNBA abuzz coming out of the game.

Yes, Ezi Magbegor hit the first three-pointer of her WNBA career, leaving her only 1,116 short of breaking Diana Taurasi’s all-time record. With as quickly as Ezi is progressing, don’t be surprised if she surpasses that mark by her fourth season.

Breanna Stewart had a team-high 27 points and eight rebounds in the victory, while Jewell Loyd chipped in 20 points in what was a shaky shooting night.

The Storm simply didn’t have a solution for Chennedy Carter, who finished with 35 points. The Dream guard is undoubtedly the favorite to finish runner-up to Ezi in the 2020 Rookie of the Year race.

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The Morning After: Reality Check

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Coach Sue BirdThe Seattle Storm slipped to 5-4 with an 81-67 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.

Seattle trimmed the deficit to two points heading into the fourth quarter but ran out of gas in the final 10 minutes. Connecticut pulled away, and the score would’ve looked worse had Sami Whitcomb not connected on a three-pointer inside the final minute.

Natasha Howard had a team-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Jewell Loyd and Shavonte Zellous scored 15 and 14 points apiece.

Three-point shooting was a big factor in the outcome. The Storm were 3-of-13 from beyond the arc, compared to 9-of-20 for the Sun.

The trio of Shekinna Stricklen, Alyssa Thomas and Jonquel Jones powered Connecticut’s offense, combining to score 49 points on 21-of-35 shooting.

As the WNBA heads into its next week, the Storm are sixth in the standings, a half-game ahead of the Indiana Fever.

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Seattle Storm 2018 Player Review: Alysha Clark

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Screen Shot 2018-08-13 at 12.43.58 PMNo Seattle Storm player provided more versatility than Alysha Clark, a 5’11” forward who can guard four positions and score from all three levels. Under Dan Hughes, Clark finally maximized her potential in the WNBA.

 

Alysha Clark By the Numbers

  • 7.4 PPG
  • 3.5 RPG
  • 1.9 APG
  • 1.0 SPG
  • .480 FG%
  • .392 3P%
  • .599 TS%
  • .564 eFG%
  • 111.9 ORtg
  • 98.9 DRtg
  • 2.5 WS

 

Adapt and Survive

Without diving too deeply into overused cliches and platitudes, Clark is an example of perseverance paying off.

In an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe immediately after winning the WNBA Finals, Clark recounted how she had struggled to find her role in the league. At one point, she wondered whether she’d have any long-term future in Seattle.

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Seattle Storm Game Review: Are We Having Fun Yet?

Joseph Zucker1 Comment

Screen Shot 2018-09-05 at 9.08.11 AMThe Seattle Storm are going to the 2018 WNBA Finals.

Seattle defeated the Phoenix Mercury 94-84 in Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals, outscoring the Mercury 35-21 in the fourth quarter, on Tuesday night in KeyArena.

Per usual, Breanna Stewart led the way with 28 points and seven rebounds. For long stretches, Stewart was single-handedly keeping the Storm afloat on offense as the team struggled with Phoenix’s suffocating defense.

Sue Bird was the big star, though, finishing with 22 points, including 14 in the final frame. Bird gave the Storm a 79-76 lead with 4:01 remaining, and her three-pointer with 2:51 left to put Seattle ahead by eight was essentially the death blow for the Mercury.

Diana Taurasi—who ICYMI was unbeaten in winner-take-all elimination games—had 17 points, while Brittney Griner posted 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

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Seattle Storm Game Review: The Maya Moore Stopper

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Screen Shot 2018-08-13 at 12.43.58 PMThe Seattle Storm maintained a two-game lead on the Atlanta Dream with an 81-72 win over the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday in Minneapolis.

The win came after Seattle [REDACTED] to the [REDACTED] on [REDACTED].

Natasha Howard relished the opportunity to once again embarrass her old team. She led the Storm with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting. Breanna Stewart had 17 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, which also tied her career high.

The Lynx own the fourth-best defensive rating in the WNBA (99.0), but the Storm shot 47.1 percent from the field as a team and were 11-of-25 on three-pointers.

It was another big win for Seattle as it looks to lock down the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoffs.

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Seattle Storm Game Review: Party Like It’s 2015

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Screen Shot 2018-06-08 at 1.12.39 AM
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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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: 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 Review: Scorcher VI

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Screen Shot 2018-05-21 at 2.28.10 AM
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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What’s the Seattle Storm’s Bar for Success in 2018?

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Where do you realistically set expectations for a team coming off back-to-back playoff appearances but still hasn’t had a winning season since 2011?

“It’s time to start winning,” Breanna Stewart said during the Storm’s media day, per the Seattle Times‘ Percy Allen. “I don’t want to come off as crass or cocky or anything like that, but losing sucks. It does. That’s just how I feel about it. And, no, I won’t ever get used to it. I can’t. That’s not how I’m wired.”

The Storm certainly intimated as much, too, when they hired Dan Hughes. They could’ve opted for a first-year head coach who would need a few seasons to grow into the role. Instead, Seattle chose a 16-year veteran who has the third-most wins (237) of any coach in WNBA history.

It’s not a title-or-bust kind of season for the Storm, but 18-20 wins are probably the minimum requirement to avoid another disappointing campaign.

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