Gatling's Career Night Not Enough Against Sky
SEATTLE–The Storm put on a furious run late in the third and put four players in double figures, led by Markeisha Gatling, but it was not enough as Seattle fell to Chicago 94-84 on Friday night.
“With a team this young, there are a lot of times where we talk about things and they get it intellectually but they’ve never felt it,” Storm head coach Jenny Boucek said. “Even going against [Brittney] Griner, going against [Elena] Delle Donne, going against Cappie [Pondexter], it’s different. We talk about it, they see them on film but you’ll see in games they start to feel it and then ‘Ah, that’s what you were talking about’ sort of thing. These are the best players in the world.”
Already with an 11-point halftime lead, the Sky began the third on an 8-0 run and took a 60-41 lead. Much like in the second quarter, the Storm fired back.
Ramu Tokashiki found Alysha Clark in the corner for a three. Seattle hit the break and Sue Bird found lark for the layup. Next time down, it was Clark again and she hit the three to cut the lead to 11.
She has 13 points, one off a career-high, and made each of her five shots.
Chicago continued to push back but every time the Storm needed a response, it turned to Gatling. She scored six of her career-high 16 points in the third against her former team.
“When she joined our team, it has been a time where we haven’t had a lot of practices,” Boucek said. “She has worked her way into our rotation without a lot of practices. The same thing with Kaleena (Mosqueda-Lewis). When you get you’re opportunities, because we’re not practicing a lot, it matters.
“There is no such thing as garbage time when you’re coming into a game because you’re learning, you’re gaining experience, you’re building trust.”
Gatling said, “It takes time with the offense we run. It’s kind of complicated at times so it took me a little time to get into it but I knew once I got it, it would be a good fit.”
Jewell Loyd wrapped the period by going coast-to-coast for the layup and put the Storm within eight entering the fourth.
Crystal Langhorne, who finished with 13 on the night, started the fourth by hitting the turnaround jumper in the lane cut it to 71-65 but Chicago had one more burst.
Chicago guard and former Gonzaga standout Courtney Vandersloot hit three straight jumpers and pushed the Sky lead back to 11. She had 21 points and eight assists on the night.
The Storm could get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
It was the start of a six-game homestand and the Storm will be back in action at KeyArena on Sunday when it takes on San Antonio at 6 p.m.
The Sky went up 32-22 when Vandersloot found Clarissa Dos Santos in the paint for the quick hoop but the Storm responded.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis hit the fade away jumper and was fouled to make it a seven-point game. Next time down the floor, Jenna O’Hea hit an in-rhythm three to cut the lead down to five.
Tokashiki was next and took it strong to the basket and hit the runner off the glass and got the foul. She hit the free throw to bring the deficit to two.
The Storm hit the break after a miss from Delle Donne and Sue Bird found Mosqueda-Lewis for the layup to tie the game at 33. Seattle went on an 11-1 run and went 4-for-4 from the field during that stretch.
Seattle had 10 assists on the team’s 13 made field goals in the half.
After Loyd converted on a layup to bring the Storm within three, the Sky finished the half on an 11-3 run. Delle Donne scored 15 points of her game-high 21 points in the first half.
The first half was played physically on both sides and the teams combined for 39 free throws and Chicago went 16-for-20 from the line.
NOTES
Elena Delle Donne returned after missing one game due to an ankle injury to make her KeyArena debut… Markeisha Gatling scored eight points of her 10 first half points in the first quarter against her former team.