By Wyatt Yearout

The Seattle Storm avoided another late comeback attempt by the Mercury, defeating Phoenix 91-87 in overtime to take a 2-0 lead in the WNBA Semifinals.

Breanna Stewart posted 27 points to lead the way for the Storm, while Sue Bird tallied 19 points along with six assists.

Rookie Jordin Canada chipped in 12 points off the bench on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting from the field.

 
DEFINING MOMENTS
After Seattle led by as much as 19 points, Phoenix got its offense going late in the fourth and went on a huge run to cut the Storm deficit to just three points with under a minute remaining. Natasha Howard was fouled at the 31-second mark and knocked down both free throws to extend the lead back to six points at 79-73.

Diana Tuarasi immediately knocked down a three-pointer on the other end for the Mercury to put the Seattle lead back at three. Bird misfired on a three on Seattle’s next trip down, giving the ball back to the Mercury with 7.3 seconds on the clock.

The next Phoenix possession, Taurasi knocked down another three-pointer to tie the game at 79 with 3.6 remaining. The Storm couldn’t get anything to fall in the final seconds, sending the game to overtime.

The Storm and Mercury both knocked down big shots in OT, with the Mercury hanging on to a small advantage until a Bird layup gave Seattle an 88-87 lead with under a minute left.

After a Seattle stop, Loyd was fouled after a jump ball and split the pair. Loyd’s free throw miss resulted in another jump ball, and Seattle gained possession forcing Phoenix to foul. Bird knocked down the pair to put Seattle up four, sealing the victory.

 
NOTES

• The Storm won back-to-back postseason games for the first time since 2010, when the team went 7-0 en route to winning its second WNBA championship.
• Seattle is now 5-0 in series that are at least five games (3-0 in 2010, 2-0 in 2018).
• Tonight’s 91-87 score matched Sunday’s game, as Seattle won 91-87 in regulation.

• After scoring just four points on Sunday, Seattle’s bench outscored Phoenix 20-9 tonight, led by Canada’s playoff career-high 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting.
• Stewart’s team-high 27 points tied for the third-highest in franchise playoff history, behind Lauren Jackson’s 31 in 2004 and Stewart’s 28 points in Game 1.
• Stewart’s 22 field goal attempts were the most by a Storm player in a playoff game (20, Betty Lennox, twice). Her 10 made were second only to the 11 Lennox made vs. Connecticut on 10/10/2004.

 
UP NEXT
Seattle is back in action on Aug. 31 in Game 3 of the WNBA Semifinals. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m./PT at Talking Stick Resort Arena.