Storm (6-18) vs. Chicago Sky (14-10)

KeyArena | Seattle, Wash.

August 14, 2015 | 7 p.m. PT

Broadcast: NBATV, Justice

 

2015 vs. Chicago: 0-0

Last meeting:  W 80-73 (July 5, 2014)

Leading scorer: Sue Bird, Crystal Langhorne 19

 

The Storm returns home after a lengthy road trip but will finally get to settle in for its longest homestand of the season and it will start on Friday when it plays host to the Chicago Sky.

Seattle will finally play a game at KeyArena in the month of August after having spent the last six games on the road and now will play the next

PLAYER TO WATCH: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis

How is it not Kaleena? Over the last two games, she is averaging 14.5 points off the bench and is shooting 57 percent from the field. She is starting to find easier ways to score and has been just as active attacking the basket as she has launched from three. Watching her progression should be fun to see.

SCOUTING CHICAGO

Generally this scouting report starts with Elena Della Donne, who is one of the frontrunners for the MVP, but she sat out their game on Wednesday after sustaining an ankle injury in the Sky’s game on Sunday. Even without her, the offense will run through Courtney Vandersloot. The Gonzaga grad leads the league with 5.8 assists and, like Sue Bird, is one of three players to be averaging 10 points and five assists this season.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Chicago will look to push the pace, which is actually a strength of the Storm’s. With the young legs of Jewell Loyd and Ramu Tokashiki and the vision of Sue Bird, an uptempo game should fit Seattle well. The Sky averages a league-best 83.3 points per game and shoots 85.1 percent from the line. That being said, keeping the Sky off the line will be critical. Simply put: push and don’t foul.

LOYD NAMED ROOKIE OF THE MONTH

Jewell Loyd is starting to show why she was taken first overall in April’s draft. She earned WNBA Rookie of the Month honors in July after averaging 10.5 points and shooting 94 percent from the line. Loyd has reached double figure scoring in three of her last five games and is averaging 13.3 points over the last three. She has also been near automatic from the line and has made 35 of her last 36 attempts.

BIRD FLYING UP THE CHARTS

I has been a season of milestones for one of the all-time greats. With her three pointer late in the fourth quarter on June 25, Sue Bird eclipsed Sheryl Swoopes for 13th on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list. On August 2 at Madison Square Garden, she surpassed the 5,000-point mark to become the only player in league history to record 5,000 points and 2,000 assists for a career and did it in front of her hometown crowd. She is at 5,027 points after scoring 15 points against Los Angeles in Tuesday night’s win and in doing so past Taj McWilliams-Franklin, who finished with 5,013 points, for 12th on the all-time list. Next up is Tangela Smith at 5,048.

KALEENA FINDING HER WAY

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis has found it tough to find minutes so far this season but her hard work has clearly paid dividends as she has scored in double figures each of the last two games, including a career-high 15 in the Storm’s win over Los Angeles on Tuesday. She followed it up with 14 more on Wednesday at Phoenix, which included 12 points in the second quarter.

LANG ON FIRE

Crystal Langhorne came alive this week and it started with a 29-point performance against San Antonio last Saturday where she went 12-for-13 from the field. She followed it up with an 18-point outing in the 85-77 win over Los Angeles. She is averaging 18 points over the last three games and is shooting 65 percent from the field. Overall, Langhorne is shooting a league-best 56 percent from the field.

BIRD IN THE HAND, WORTH TWO IN THE BASKET

Sue Bird continues to be one of the better distributors in the league and dished out a season-high 13 assists, one off a career-high, on August 8 at San Antonio. She also collected 12 on July 18 against Atlanta. Bird is second in the league with 5.5 assists per game and is one of only three players to be averaging 10 points and five assists (Courtney Vandersloot, Danielle Robinson).