By Seth Dahle
Seattle (0-1) will look to bounce back on Wednesday, as the Storm hits the road to face Phoenix, once again, at Talking Stick Resort Arena, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. PT.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live video for Wednesday’s game will be available via WNBA League Pass. Live stats are also available at StormBasketball.com, and live updates will be provided on Twitter by following @SeattleStorm.
LAST TIME OUT
Seattle (0-1) is coming off an 87-82 setback in its season opener on May 20 at KeyArena.
Breanna Stewart tallied career double-double No. 22 (22 points, 15 boards), but it wasn’t enough, as the Storm shot just 37.9 percent (25-for-66) and 37 percent (10-for-27) from deep.
Seattle newcomers Natasha Howard and Jordin Canada added a spark off the bench, scoring 14 and nine points, respectively. Howard also had two blocks, while Canada snagged four steals, matching a season-high effort for any Storm player last season.
Trailing by 14 (50-36) in the third quarter, Seattle mustered a 6-0 run sparked by three’s from Stewart and Jewell Loyd to gain some momentum.
Stewart split a pair with 3:43 remaining in the fourth to cut the deficit to one (73-72) before the Mercury rattled off seven unanswered points to push it back to eight (80-72).
Down three (85-82), the Storm had a chance to tie the affair with 3.2 seconds left, but turned it over.
Seattle fell to 9-10 all-time in season openers and 11-8 in home openers.
STORM SNIPPETS
- In Seattle’s loss to Phoenix on Sunday, Sue Bird moved past Becky Hammon to No. 8 on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list, and she now has 5,850 points for her career. She has a chance to pass former Storm great Lauren Jackson, who has 6,007 career points.
- Loyd dished out four assists vs. Phoenix on Sunday, including career dime No. 300 at the 7:36 mark of the fourth quarter.
- In its last time out, Seattle had 28 points from its bench. Last season, the Storm amassed over 25 bench points in just four games.
SCOUTING PHOENIX
The Mercury is enjoying a 2-0 start for the fifth time in franchise history, having also accomplished it in 1998, 2000, 2009 and 2014.
2017 WNBA scoring champion Brittney Griner scored a game-high 29 points in Sunday’s contest in Seattle, shooting 10-for-17 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free throw line. She had 10 boards to muster her 28th-career double-double, moving into sole possession of second place on the Mercury’s all-time double-doubles list.
Briann January also played big on Sunday, recording 15 points, six dimes and four boards.
SERIES HISTORY
The Storm is 39-30 all-time against Phoenix and 18-17 on the road against the Mercury. Sunday’s contest marked the only time Seattle will play Phoenix at KeyArena during the 2018 regular season.
UP NEXT
The Storm hosts Allie Quigley and the Chicago Sky on Friday at 7 p.m. PT.