Storm Snaps Three-Game Losing Streak; Seattle Improves to 7-12
SAN ANTONIO – Playing its third game in four days, the Seattle Storm earned a 78-68 win over the San Antonio Stars on Friday at the AT&T Center. Rookie forward Breanna Stewart scored 21 points for the Storm (7-12), which snapped a three-game losing streak before returning home to face the Indiana Fever on Sunday.
Stewart shot 7-for-14 from the field on her way to a game-high 21 points, while Jewell Loyd (15 points), Crystal Langhorne (12) and Alysha Clark (11) were also in double figures for the Storm. Rookie point guard Moriah Jefferson, who played alongside Stewart at UConn, paced the Stars with 16 points and six assists.
It was the third road win of the year for Seattle, surpassing the team’s total from last season. The Storm evened the season series with the Stars, who will visit Seattle on July 20 in the final meeting between them.
Seattle shot 50 percent from the field Friday night, and the efficient shooting started early in the first quarter. A hot start by the Storm forced San Antonio to call timeout 6:30 into the game, when Seattle led 16-7 after sinking seven of its first 10 shots. Dearica Hamby scored two baskets as part of a 6-0 spurt that helped San Antonio climb back into the game and pull within three by the end of the quarter. Langhorne had six points on 3-for-3 shooting in the opening frame, surpassing her total of four points in the first game at San Antonio.
San Antonio tied it up two minutes into the second frame, and the teams went back and forth the remainder of the half. The Stars took their first lead at 28-26 midway through the period, and they kept pace with the Storm thanks to a pair of three-pointers and eight total points in the second quarter from Jefferson. Stewart countered with nine second-quarter points, including four in the final minutes as Seattle closed the half on a 10-0 run to make it 47-38 at the break.
Both teams were ice cold in the third quarter, as the Stars outscored Seattle 16-11 and they committed five turnovers apiece. Reserve wing Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis hit two three-pointers in a three-minute span to help the Storm extend its lead at the start of the fourth quarter, and Seattle maintained a sizeable edge the rest of the way. Clark scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer that pushed the lead to nine after San Antonio had pulled within six.
After scoring a season-high 10 points on Wednesday at New York, Mosqueda-Lewis hit all three of her three-point attempts to lead the Storm bench with nine points Friday. Stars reserves Haley Peters and Kayla Alexander added 15 and 10 points, respectively.