By Wyatt Yearout

Seattle Storm completed the fourth season sweep over Connecticut in franchise history. taking down the Sun 78-65 and boosting its record to 18-6 for the season.

Jewell Loyd led the way for the Storm with a season-high 31 points, with 20 coming in the second half.

Sue Bird added 17 points along with five assists for Seattle as well.

The Storm forced a season-best 21 turnovers as well as limiting the Sun to just 40.3 percent shooting.

DEFINING MOMENTS
After battling from behind a majority of the game, Seattle went on a 6-0 run to take a six-point advantage with 3:03 left in the third quarter. The Sun and Storm essentially traded buckets the remainder of the quarter, as Seattle took a 52-48 lead into the fourth.

The Sun and Storm continued to trade buckets in the fourth with the Seattle lead hovering around six points. A three from Bird at the halfway mark pushed Seattle’s lead to 67-58, sparking a 14-7 to cap the affair.

Loyd scored 13 of the Storm’s final 24 points in the final 8:16, including back-to-back daggers from distance that extended Seattle’s lead to 75-60 with just 1:51 left to play.

HUGHES’ TAKE
Head coach Dan Hughes felt the game came down to a combination of his team’s defense as well as the season-high scoring output from Loyd.

“[Jewell Loyd] was really the player that kind of kept us steady all four quarters, and the defense in the first half and the ability to turn them over I thought was huge.”

NOTES

Storm veteran Bird played in her 499th-career game today, tying DeLisha Milton-Jones (499) for the most games played in WNBA history. She is set to break the record Sunday, July 22 in Atlanta.
Tonight’s 31-point performance by Loyd marked her fourth 30-plus point game of her career.
Despite scoring her first bucket (a three-pointer) with 3:32 to play in the second quarter, Breanna Stewart, the league’s leading scorer who came into the game averaging 22.9 PPG, finished with 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Seattle improved to 16-2 with the starting lineup of Bird, Loyd, Stewart, Alysha Clark and Natasha Howard.
With her 830^th-career three-pointer at the 3:03 mark of the third quarter, Bird broke her tie with Becky Hammon (829) for third all-time in WNBA history for three-pointers made. She finished the game with three treys and now has 832 for her career.

UP NEXT
Seattle plays its fourth straight road game in its next matchup with the Atlanta Dream on Sunday, with tip-off set for Noon/PDT.

PREVIEW: at Indiana (July 24)

Bird Makes History With 500th-Career Game, but Seattle Falls to Atlanta, 87-74

Loyd’s 31 Points Lift Storm Over Sun, 78-65