BRADENTON, Fla. — Its win streak now at nine games, the Seattle Storm (11-1) are out to its best start in franchise history after a 105-64 win over the New York Liberty (1-10).

The Storm once again led from start to finish in another dominant showing, with almost half of their points coming from off the bench. Epiphanny Prince, in her return to the lineup, led the way with 16 of the bench’s 49 total points, and Sami Whitcomb also scored in double figures for the Storm with 14 points.

“Our bench is very mature, and has always been ready to step up if need be,” guard Jewell Loyd said. “We’re lucky we have a solid core group to get it going and then we have players off the bench that can sustain it.”

Seattle put together another great showing on the defensive side of the ball as well, holding New York to a 32.8% shooting percentage and just six made threes opposed to Seattle’s 13.
The Storm once again started the game strong, scoring the game’s first 10 points and running out to a 27-16 lead in the opening frame, led by Loyd’s 10 points.

Seattle continued its dominant play in the second quarter, extending its lead to 33 by halftime, thanks to a strong defensive effort. Holding the Liberty to 28.6% shooting from the floor and forcing 12 first half turnovers, the Storm got out and ran in transition for 15 points off turnovers.

The second half was more of the same for the Storm, with every player that was subbed in contributing in the scoring sheet. Seattle was able to play all 11 active players on its roster, and six players scored in double figures.

“I like the way we’re playing, we’re playing with a lot of confidence, we’re really sharing the ball on the offensive end and shooting the ball with a lot of confidence,” head coach Gary Kloppenburg said. “We want to keep that going, and I like the way we’re pushing the pace, we’re getting a lot of good, easy baskets, and our defense is forcing some turnovers and getting some easy baskets.”

TOP STAT TO KNOW

#SayHerName: It has been 158 days since Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in her own apartment. The officers responsible for her death have not been arrested.

SEATTLE HIGHLIGHTS

• The Storm scored the game’s first 10 points, and held the Liberty without a made field goal for the game’s first four minutes. Seattle led 27-16 after the first quarter alone, led by Jewell Loyd’s 10 first quarter points.
• Winning 11 of its first 12 games, Seattle has secured its best start in franchise history, breaking its previous best start set in 2010, when it also started 10-1. The Storm’s nine-game winning streak is also the second-longest in franchise history.
• Epiphanny Prince returned to the lineup Tuesday night and led the way with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting with two steals. Prince played for New York from 2015-2018.
• The Storm have won their last five games by an average margin of 27 points, including the 41 point victory today.
• Natasha Howard secured her second straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in just under 15 minutes of action.
• Seattle’s 61 first-half points tied a franchise record (vs. Phoenix, 8/4/2007), while the 41-point margin of victory ties the second-largest in team history (vs. Phoenix, 7/19/2002, 89-48).
• Six Storm players scored in double figures in the win, with 49 points coming off the bench. Along with Prince and Howard, Loyd (14), Breanna Stewart (14), Sami Whitcomb (14) and Sue Bird (10) all scored at least 10 points.

NEXT GAME

The Storm will take the floor next against the Indiana Fever on Thursday, Aug. 20 at 5 p.m. PT on JoeTV, followed by a matchup with the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, Aug. 22 at Noon PT.