Jewell Loyd pours in 39 as all five Seattle starters reach double-figures

ARLINGTON, Texas – After Jewell Loyd ripped the nets for 25 points during the first half, the Dallas Wings though they’d found an answer by keeping her scoreless during the third quarter.

Loyd answered that during the fourth quarter. But her answer ended with an exclamation point – and a capital ‘W’.

Loyd pumped in 14 points during the final 3:35 on Saturday afternoon, finishing with a career-high 39, and the Seattle Storm got two timely defensive stops down the stretch, surviving for a 109-103 victory inside College Park Center.

Her performance, the final two points of which came at the free throw line with 15.1 seconds left to make it 107-100, was the second-highest in franchise history. The only better one was 47 points by Lauren Jackson on July 24, 2007 – and even that wasn’t enough to get the win as the Mystics prevailed in overtime, 97-96. (Jackson got 41 of hers in regulation.)

The Storm (3-7), who completed a 2-1 road trip to Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Dallas, got help from up and down the lineup during Saturday’s CBS nationally televised contest.

Mercedes Russell, back in the starting five after coming off the bench for the past three games, produced a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, her first of the season. Ezi Magbebor added 15 points, six rebounds, and four blocked shots.

Ivana Dojkić came up with her fourth straight double-digit game, tallying 14 points to go along with a career-high seven assists. Kia Nurse chipped in 11 as all five Seattle starters were in double digits.

Loyd hit 12 of 21 from the field, with 7 of 12 from 3-point range. Her 25-point first half was on 9-of-15 shooting, with 6 of 10 from downtown. It was tied for the fifth-highest scoring half in team history – and of the top six scoring halves, Loyd has four of them.

She missed all three of the shots she took during the third quarter before finding her groove again. Through the final four minute of the game, Loyd made all three of her tries from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

On most any other day, that would have stolen the show. But everything that Loyd did for Seattle, Arike Ogunbowale did likewise for Dallas (5-6). She finished with a career-high 41, getting 19 of hers during the fourth quarter, during which time she hit 7-of-9 overall, 4-of-6 behind the arc. Ogunbowale was 13-of-24 for the day.

BACK AND FORTH … AGAIN AND AGAIN 

The game was tied seven times, and the lead changed hands 18 times. The last of those lead changes – and the last of the ties – came at the outset of the fourth quarter when the Storm’s Sami Whitcomb drained a 3-pointer from the left corner on a second-chance opportunity. That put Seattle on top, 77-75.

The Wings knotted it one more time at 77-77 on an Ogunbowale jumper from the foul line. But once the Storm ran off the next five points in a row on two free throws by Dojkić and a traditional three-point play by Magbegor, they managed to stay in front the rest of the way.

But it was never by a comfortable margin. Seattle was up by seven at 87-80 with 7:21 to go. By the 3:56 mark, the Wings had gotten back within one at 90-89.

It was then the Loyd regained her shooting stroke. She hit a jumper from the left of the foul line at 3:35 to push the lead back to three. Magbegor followed with a trey to make it 95-89, only to see Ogunbowale drain a 3-pointer just moments later, cutting it 95-92.

With the Strom up 97-93, Loyd began a personal 10-point scoring run. It started with back-to-back trips to the foul line, sandwiched around an Ogunbwale lay-in, leaving the lead 101-95 with 1:32 left. Loyd then drained a 3-pointer from the left of the lane off a feed from Dojkić for a three-possession margin, 104-95, at the 1:03 mark.

The Wings got as close as four at 104-100 – and they had a chance to get within two.

Coming out of a timeout with 31.5 seconds remaining, a frontcourt inbounds pass to Loyd was knocked away by Crystal Dangerfield. She and Loyd both scrambled for it behind the midcourt line, but Loyd came up with it. She was subsequently fouled by Dangerfield, hit the first foul shot but missed the second for a 105-100 edge at 26.7 seconds.

Dangerfield missed a shot on the Wings’ ensuing possession, and Loyd rebounded. She was fouled again by Dangerfield, and this time, she hit both. The first one tied her career high of 38, the second one pushed her past it with 15.1 seconds to go, and it again was a three-possession game at 107-100.

Ogunbowale flung up a 3 from the left corner that took a bounce off the rim and went through for 107-103 at 7.8 seconds. But that was all for Dallas, and Kia Nurse’s two free throws with 5.9 left iced it for the Storm.

BY THE NUMBERS 

–The combined 80 points by Notre Dame products Jewell Loyd (39) and Arike Ogunbowale (41) was the most between two opposing players in WNBA history. When they met on May 26 in Seattle, it was 56 points: 30 for Loyd, 26 for Ogunbowale. Loyd came into Saturday leading the league in scoring at 23.8 points per game; Ogunbowale was No. 3 on the list at 21.7.

— This is the sixth game in the past seven between these teams to have a final margin in single digits. That includes the Wings’ 95-91 victory on May 26.

–The Storm shot better than 50 percent for the first time this season, finishing at 50.8 (33 of 65). That included 50 percent from downtown (17 of 34), season highs for both makes and attempts. There were 11 of 21 behind the arc during the first half, and 4 of 4 during the fourth quarter.

— Dallas’ accuracy was solid, as well: 50.0 percent overall (38 of 76) and 38.5 percent from long range (10 of 26).

— Seattle also had season-high numbers at the foul line, hitting 26 of 32.

— Along with all five starters scoring, all five had at least two assists. Along with Ivana Dojkic’s seven, Loyd and Mercedes Russell had five each.

— Ezi Magbegor has three-plus blocks in seven of the past eight games.

— Satou Sabally added 25 points for Dallas, and former Storm star Natasha Howard had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.