Loyd tallies 41 points; Whitcomb adds season-high 22 in hard-fought loss

SEATTLE – Jewell Loyd was doing just about everything for the Seattle Storm on Thursday night. The only thing she didn’t get to do was take the last shot.

Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier had that – and she hit it.

Collier drained a turn-around 10-footer in the lane on the right side with 1.8 seconds left in overtime, giving the Lynx a 99-97 victory inside Climate Pledge Arena.

The clock stopped after the make, but the Storm (4-11) were out of timeouts. All they could get was inbound and get a desperate backcourt heave by Ivana Dojkić, but it fell well short, sealing the win for Minnesota (6-9).

The outcome spoiled a career night by Loyd. She poured in 41 points, just the second Storm player ever in the 40. (Lauren Jackson had 47 in a 97-96 loss at Washington on July 24, 2007). Loyd hit 15 of 35 from the field (the 35 attempts also was a career high), and pulled down nine rebounds.

Ezi Magbegor put together a monster double-double with 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, that was two more than her previous best effort on the boards. Sami Whitcomb chipped in a season-high 22 points off the bench on 7-of-11 shooting (5-of-7 from long range).

The game-winning basket by Collier was Minnesota’s first and only lead of overtime. She finished with 31 points after pouring in 33 against the Storm on Tuesday in Minneapolis.

Tied at 87-87 after regulation, Whitcomb gave Seattle the initial edge in the extra session with a 24-foot 3-pointer from the right side the barely beat the shot clock buzzer. The Lynx came right back down and got a traditional three-point play from Lindsay Allen to tie it back up at 90-90.

A Loyd trey on Dojkić’s 10^th and final assist of the night put Seattle back on top, 93-90, with 3:26 to go. Collier drained a pair of free throws at the 2:34 mark, getting the Lynx within one at 93-92. Loyd then drained a turnaround 5-footer from the left of the hoop for a 95-92 edge at 2:11.

Kayla McBride nailed a deep 3-pointer from the left side with 1:53 remaining, knotting it at 95-95. Then in a scramble under the Storm hoop, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu latched onto a rebound and got just enough room for a putback and a 97-95 Seattle edge with 1:29 to go.

A driving lay-in by Diamond Miller forged a 97-97 tie with 11.2 seconds left. The Storm called timeout and advanced the ball to front court. Inbounding on the left side, Dojkić finally got it in with a high lob that Loyd pulled down despite a lot of contact between the circles. But in trying to gain full control of the ball, it bounced off her foot and went out of bounds, turning it back to Minnesota with 7.6 seconds to go.

The Lynx returned from their timeout, and Collier worked it down toward the right side for her game winner that swished through the net.

“We did a lot of really good things in a situation that we hadn’t been in this year,” Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said. “We have to execute better. We have to box out and rebound. At the end, we have to play every possession. … We just need to stay the course.”

It was the Storm who forced overtime. Down 86-83 with 1:24 left in regulation, they scored four of the last five points. Loyd, who scored Seattle’s first 10 points of the fourth quarter, got the equalizer to make it 87-87 on a runner from straight on front with 21.9 seconds to go.

That still left the Lynx with plenty of time to go for a winning shot. Collier held the ball under arm beyond the top of the key as the clock ticked down, then, with about 12 seconds showing, started to move it toward the hoop. But Loyd knocked it away from her and gained possession. There wasn’t enough time to go all the way downcourt, so Loyd launched a 45-footer that did reach the back of the rim, but bounced off.

BY THE NUMBERS 

–Loyd made four treys on Thursday, giving her 440 for her career and taking over the No. 2 spot on the all-time Storm list. Coming into the game, she was tied with Lauren Jackson with 436. Sue Bird is by far and away the team leader, with 1,001 in her career.

— Magbegor’s big double-double came in her 100^th career game.

— Dojkić dealt a career-high 10 assists. Her previous high was nine on Tuesday in Minnesota. She joined Bird as the only rookies in franchise history with 9-plus assists in back-to-back games.

UP NEXT 

The Storm host Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Fox 13+, CBS Sports Network and streamed on Amazon Prime Video in Washington state.

—— StormBasketball.com ——