By Wyatt Yearout
The Storm closed out its four-game trip defeating the Indiana Fever 92-72 to improve to 19-7 on the season and take the No. 1 record in the WNBA into the All-Star break.
Breanna Stewart posted her sixth double-double this season with 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead Seattle.
Sue Bird notched a double-double as well with 11 points and 11 assists, her 27th of her career.
The Storm nearly had three players with double-doubles, as Natasha Howard fell just short with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Seattle held Indiana to 34.6 percent shooting from the field, which marked a season best in opponent field goal percentage.
DEFINING MOMENTS
A 8-0 run to start along with 13 first-quarter points from Jewell Loyd (3-for-3 from three) led to a 29-21 Seattle lead after the first period. The Storm opened up the second period on an 14-2 run helping extend as many as 20 points, although the Fever went on a small run to close the half, narrowing the gap to 46-34 at half.
A 16-point third quarter from Stewart helped Seattle extend its lead back over to 20 points at one point and take a 71-53 lead after three.
Indiana went on a run once again in the fourth, trimming the deficit to just eight points (80-72) with just over two minutes remaining. The Storm however was able to strike last, and answered with a 12-0 to close out the game and secure the victory.
HUGHES’ TAKE
In a game where many things went well, coach Dan Hughes was most pleased with the consistency of his team’s play.
“Overall, I was most happy about winning every quarter. I thought that was huge, and obviously we had timely play from our key people.”
NOTES
- Seattle’s road record now stands at 9-3, 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 five of its remaining eight regular-season games away from KeyArena.
- WNBA MVP candidate Stewart, who entered tonight’s game leading the WNBA in scoring at 22.7 PPG, finished with 26 points. Tonight marks her 14th 25+ scoring effort this season, including her fourth such effort in the team’s last five games.
- With 16 points in the third quarter alone, Stewart tied her career-high for points scored in a single frame. She also scored 16 points in a single quarter (second quarter) vs. Indiana on 7/10/16.
- Howard’s five blocks tonight ties a season-high, which she also achieved on July 10 vs. Los Angeles.
- The Storm eclipsed the 25-assist mark for the sixth time in 2018.
UP NEXT
The Storm returns to action after the All-Star break on July 31 playing at Phoenix with a tip-off set for 7 p.m./PT.