Seattle will look to rebound from a three-point setback at Indiana, as the Storm faces the New York Liberty on Sunday to cap a three-game road swing. Tipoff at Madison Square Garden is set for Noon PDT.
The Storm fell to 5-3 on the year with an 83-80 loss at Indiana on Friday. Jewell Loyd eclipsed the 25-point mark for the fourth time this season, tallying a game-high 25 on 9-for-20 shooting. Breanna Stewart added a season-high 23 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Alysha Clark recorded 13 points.
In addition to dishing out six dimes, Sue Bird chalked up a season-high 11 points to move to ninth in the all-time WNBA record books, as she passed DeLisha Milton-Jones. She now has 5,576 points for her career.
Seattle outscored Indiana, 27-17, in the third on the way to taking a five-point (66-61) lead into the fourth quarter, but the Fever held the Storm to a dismal 5-for-17 clip in the final 10 minutes. Seattle had a chance to tie it in the final moments, but Bird’s three on the left wing just missed the bottom of the net.
Loyd’s team-best, points-per-game average moved up to 19 per game, while Stewart tallies 16 points and eight boards per affair. Bird dishes out a league-best 7.8 assists per game, and Crystal Langhorne is shooting 66.7 percent from the field.
AT A GLANCE: LIBERTY
New York enters Sunday with a 5-3 record after defeating Atlanta on Wednesday, 76-61, improving its June record to 18-3 in the last three seasons. ‘
The Liberty enjoyed a 20-point halftime lead and outrebounded the Dream by 13. Once again, Tina Charles shouldered the load, booking 18 points and 15 rebounds. Meanwhile, Kiah Stokes also played big inside, recording 17 rebounds.
On the year, Charles is averaging 20.4 points per game, which ranks fifth in the league as of Friday. Sugar Rodgers adds 11.9 points and four rebounds, while Shavonte Zellous adds 10.3 points.
SERIES HISTORY
Seattle has a 16-17 all-time record against New York, including a 6-10 mark at Madison Square Garden.
Last season, Seattle snapped a five-game losing skid in New York with a 102-78 triumph on Sept. 7. This marked Seattle’s highest point total of the 2016 season and the only time the team eclipsed 100 points. The Storm hit nine three-pointers in the game, and had three players (Loyd 25, Stewart 23, Langhorne 21) score over 20 points.
On May 26, Seattle won an 87-81 thriller over New York at KeyArena in a game that saw Sami Whitcomb explode for 22 points, including six three’s, in the final 20 minutes. The Storm tied a franchise record with 14 triples and rallied from a 10-point deficit down the stretch.
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