Storm (7-19) vs. Indiana (15-9)

KeyArena | Seattle, Wash.

August 21, 2015 | 7 p.m. PT

Broadcast: Live Access, Justice

 

2015 vs. Indiana: 0-1

Last meeting:  L 65-88 (July 8, 2015)

Leading scorer: Jewell Loyd 15

 

The Storm got some much needed rest this week and get back to action on Friday when it plays host to Indiana at 7 p.m.

It is the third of a six-game homestand, which runs between Aug. 16 and Sept. 3, and the Storm still has San Antonio, Washington, and Tulsa left at the Key.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Ramu Tokashiki

It is Ramu Tokashiki’s final game with the Storm before she heads back to Japan to help the Japanese National Team qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics and she may look to leave an impression. She is averaging 12 points over the last three games while shooting 46.7 percent from the field.

SCOUTING INDIANA

Hot. Indiana comes in having won four straight and are 7-1 since the All-Star Break and came back from being 14 down at halftime to beat Los Angeles at Staples Center on Tuesday. Tamika Catchings is averaging 15.5 points over her last four games and dropped 20 in LA. Shenise Johnson has been a terror on the boards from the guard position and has had at least seven rebounds in each of the last four games.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Hit the boards. Indiana can rebound well at every position and limiting the second chance points will provide a big boost for the Storm. Additionally, the team would do well to attack the paint. The Storm shoots 80.3 percent from the free throw line and Jewell Loyd is one of the better players in the league at getting to the line at 3.2 per game.

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 5,049 points and passed Tangela Smith for 11th all-time after scoring 13 in the win over San Antonio on Sunday. Bird will have a long road to trek to potentially break into the top 10 with DeLisha Milton-Jones sitting at 5,559.

LOYD BUILDING OFF 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 five of her last seven games and is averaging 13.8 points over the last five, including 18 points against San Antonio on Sunday night. She has also been near automatic from the line and has made 42 of her last 45 attempts.

TOK HELPING ROY CHANGES

Along with Jewell Loyd, Ramu Tokashiki has continued to grow in her rookie season and had one of her better overall games on Sunday against San Antonio. She finished with 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds to go along with tracking down a loose ball on a jump ball to seal the game. She is averaging 8.3 points (third among rookies), 20 minutes (third), 0.88 blocks (fourth), and shooting 87.2 percent from the line (third).

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 in two of the last four games, including a career-high 15 in the Storm’s win over Los Angeles on August 11. She followed it up with 14 more the next night at Phoenix, which included 12 points in the second quarter.

HITTING THE MARK-EISHA

It has taken some time but the second year center has started to find her comfort level within the Storm offense. Markeisha Gatling scored a career-high 16 points last Friday against her former team, Chicago, in 12 minutes of play. It is her second double digit game off the bench in the last eight games and she is averaging 5.5 points in only 10.3 minutes.

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 5.6 assists per game and is one of only three players to be averaging 10 points and five assists (Courtney Vandersloot, Danielle Robinson).