Tuesday, June 14 – 5 p.m. PT
AT&T Center | San Antonio, TX
ESPN3; WNBA League Pass
Team Details
The two teams at the bottom of the standings a year ago, San Antonio (1-7) is once again in last place while the Storm (4-6) is tied for sixth. The Stars’ lone victory was a one-point home win over Chicago on May 27. Seattle ended a two-game losing streak by defeating Indiana 90-88 on Sunday.
Head-to-Head History
Seattle has a 32-28 all-time record against San Antonio, including a 2-3 record in 2015. The last time these teams met in San Antonio, on Aug. 8, 2015, Crystal Langhorne had 29 points on 12-of-13 shooting while Sue Bird had 13 assists. It was the most points and assists recorded by a Storm player all season. However, Jia Perkins scored 32 for the Stars, the most by a San Antonio player all year, and the Storm fell 88-81.
Notable Statistics
On the offensive end, San Antonio ranks last in the league in points per game (69.9) and field goal percentage (38.0). The most the Stars have scored in a game is 79 points, while Seattle averages 80.7 per contest. The best San Antonio has shot in a game is 42.9 percent, and the Storm shoots 46.6 percent from the field for the season.
The Storm went 9-for-19 from three-point range in Sunday’s win at Indiana, adding to its impressive outside shooting résumé. Through 10 games, 198 of Seattle’s 612 (32.4 percent) shot attempts have been three-pointers. The Storm ranks second in the league with 19.8 attempted per game, and fourth with a 34.3 percent conversion rate.
On Sunday against Indiana, Jewell Loyd scored 16 points in the second half and hit the go-ahead free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining to guide the Storm to a 90-88 win. It marked the second time this season that Loyd has scored the game-winning points in the final seconds. On May 21, Loyd hit the game-winner with 2.9 seconds remaining to give Seattle an 81-80 win over Phoenix. She scored the final 10 points for Seattle in that game, finishing the fourth quarter with 12 on 6-of-7 field goals.
Key Matchup
After selecting her with the No. 2 overall pick, the Stars have already given point guard Moriah Jefferson the keys to their offense. In college, Jefferson was a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award, given to the nation’s top point guard. She now averages 4.5 assists per game for San Antonio, one of the highest marks in the league behind only Seattle’s Sue Bird (5.8) and three others. Bird has been outstanding the last two games, averaging 20 points and six assists on 57.7 percent shooting.
Notes
- In Tuesday’s matchup with San Antonio, Storm rookie Breanna Stewart will battle former UConn teammate Moriah Jefferson for the first time in the WNBA. Jefferson was in the same class and won four consecutive national titles with the Huskies alongside Stewart. Stewart, Jefferson and Morgan Tuck (Connecticut Sun) became the first trio of college teammates to be selected with the top three picks in the WNBA Draft. Among rookies, Stewart ranks first in points per game (14.8), rebounds (9.6) and blocks (1.9), while Jefferson ranks first in assists (4.5).
- Following Tuesday’s game, the Storm will close out its road trip on Thursday at Dallas before hosting Minnesota on Sunday, June 19. The Lynx is currently 10-0, tied for the most consecutive wins to start a season in WNBA history.