By Wyatt Yearout
The Seattle Storm closed out its five-game road stint with a victory, defeating the Phoenix Mercury 102-91 to improve to 20-7 on the season.
Jewell Loyd led the way for the Storm with 29 points (ties season-high) knocking down five three-pointers (ties career-high).
Natasha Howard tallied her fourth double-double on the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Seattle had two other players reach double figure points in Breanna Stewart (16) and Alysha Clark (13).
DEFINING MOMENTS
The Storm went on a 9-2 run late in the first half to help take a nine-point advantage into the break at 53-44.
Seattle kept its foot on the gas in the third period and was able to extend its lead at one point to 23 points. Stewart and Loyd combined for 18 of the Storm’s 28 points in the period. The Storm knocked down five three-pointers in the quarter as a team and held the Mercury to 35 percent shooting for the quarter.
Phoenix went on a couple small runs in the fourth period, but the initial Storm lead proved to be too much for the Mercury, as Seattle handed Phoenix its fourth-straight setback.
HUGHES’ TAKE
Head coach Dan Hughes attributed his team’s runs in the second and third to the way his team shared the ball.
“It was great ball movement. I thought we did a good job of going inside – points in the paint, we had 48. You were getting inside and out, you were getting side to side, and I thought we were able to play out of our defense just enough transition [baskets] as well.”
NOTES
- Seattle’s road record now stands at 10-3, on pace to set the franchise’s best road record in history (currently 11, set in 2010, when the Storm went 11-6 on the road). The team has four of its remaining seven regular-season games away from KeyArena.
- Stewart, who entered the night fifth in the WNBA with 8.2 rebounds per game, grabbed eight boards.
- Guard Sue Bird handed out five assists, giving her 181 on the season.
- Clark drilled three triples tonight, tying a career-high which she has now achieved five times. She finished with 13 points for her ninth double-figure scoring game of 2018.
- Seattle improved to 18-3 with the starting lineup of Bird, Loyd, Stewart, Clark and Howard.
- Tonight marked the second time that Loyd has scored 29 points against Phoenix (29, 5/23/18).
UP NEXT
Seattle returns to KeyArena after five games on the road to take on the Minnesota Lynx in its next game on Aug. 3. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m./PT.