Seattle Storm Falls to Connecticut Sun 77-76 on Last-Second Shot

Breanna Stewart Has Double-Double in Return to Connecticut; Seattle’s Record Stands at 3-6

UNCASVILLE, CONN. – Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas scored the final four points of the contest, including a game-winning layup with less than one second remaining, to sink the Seattle Storm 77-76 on Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena. Sue Bird scored a season-high 24 points for the Storm, while fellow UConn alum Breanna Stewart had 10 points and 12 rebounds in her first WNBA game in the state of Connecticut.

Ahead for nearly the entire night, the Storm had a 73-70 lead with one minute remaining when Sun forward Morgan Tuck drained a three-pointer to tie the game. Seattle guard Jewell Loyd responded with a three-pointer of her own, and Thomas made two free throws on the subsequent possession to make it 76-75 in favor of the Storm with 33 seconds to go. Bird then missed a jumper late in the shot clock, and Connecticut called timeout with 8.8 seconds on the game clock. Thomas scored on a putback of Camille Little’s miss with 0.6 seconds remaining to clinch the win for Connecticut.

Tuck, who won four consecutive national titles with Stewart at UConn, scored a career-high 20 points off the bench for the Sun. Stewart, who ranks third in the league with 10.1 rebounds per game, recorded her fourth double-double of the season. Bird scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the first half, finishing 9-for-15 on the night to go with a game-high eight assists.

The Storm drops to 3-6 on the year, while Connecticut (2-7) snaps a six-game losing streak and evens the season series after Seattle had beaten the Sun on May 28 at KeyArena.

Despite shooting 38.1 percent from the field, the Storm led 19-17 after the first quarter behind nine points from Bird. Connecticut went on a 9-0 run spanning the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter to take a three-point lead, but Seattle would regain the advantage just minutes later thanks in part to Bird’s second three-pointer. Bird continued to dominate in the second quarter, and the 15-year veteran led the Storm on an 11-2 spurt to close out the half with a 38-28 lead.

Connecticut shot 28.6 percent in the first half, including 0-for-7 from three-point range.

The Storm opened up a 14-point lead early in the third quarter, but Connecticut responded with another 9-0 run to pull within five. After missing her first seven shots, Stewart scored eight points in a three-minute span to help Seattle maintain its edge heading into the fourth quarter.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, another UConn alum, scored seven clutch points in the fourth quarter for the Storm. But it wasn’t enough, as Tuck and the Sun were able to come from behind and steal a victory.

The Storm continues its four-game road trip on Sunday at Indiana, with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m. PT.