WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Seattle Storm rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Washington Mystics, 74-71, in the teams’ first meeting since Game 3 of the 2018 WNBA Finals. For the second straight game, Jewell Loyd put the Storm ahead in the waning seconds, sinking a jumper with 8.6 seconds on the clock.
Drama ensued early on when Kristi Toliver received her second technical with less than a minute left in the first quarter, forcing her to leave for the remainder of the game. Jordin Canada’s night was also cut short when she exited the game with an apparent knee injury during the second quarter.
Elena Delle Donne opened the fourth quarter with a jumper to extend the Mystics’ lead to 13, but it would mark her final bucket of the game. Natasha Howard, who finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, poured in six consecutive points to bring the Storm within five of Washington with 6:06 remaining.
With the momentum in its favor, Seattle went on a 10-0 run over the final 2:36. With under a minute to play, Howard tied it up at 71-71, and Jewell Loyd hit the 18-foot go-ahead jumper with 8.6 seconds left, forcing a Mystics timeout.
Unable to inbound the ball, Washington took another timeout and Aerial Powers, who had 16 points, missed Washington’s final field goal attempt that was brought down by Mercedes Russell. With a fraction of a second to play, Alysha Clark hit one of two free throws to push the lead to the final 74-71 margin.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- For the second straight game, Jewell Loyd put the Storm ahead in the waning moments, sinking a jumper with 8.6 seconds left.
- Seattle scored the final 10 points of the game, holding the Mystics scoreless over the final 2:36.
- Natasha Howard and Mercedes Russell recorded double-doubles and combined for 15 of the Storm’s 22 fourth quarter points.
KEY STATS OF THE GAME
- Natasha Howard finished the night with a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds for her third double-double this season. Last year, Howard notched her third double-double in the Storm’s 19th game (July 6 at Atlanta). In the fourth quarter, she tallied eight points, three rebounds and two assists.
- Jewell Loyd hit a jumper to put the Storm ahead with under 10 seconds on the clock. Loyd has scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting (54.5 pct) in clutch time this season (defined as the last five minutes of the fourth quarter/OT and the score within five points).
- Mercedes Russell recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. Ten of Russell’s 19 rebounds over the Storm’s last two games have come off the offensive glass.
- The Storm went on a 10-0 run in the final 2:36 of the game. Seattle held the Mystics to eight points in the fourth quarter, the fewest that it has allowed in any frame in almost a full year (Indiana, 8 pts in second quarter on 6/22/18). Seattle scored eight points off six Mystics turnovers in the fourth quarter.
SEATTLE HIGHLIGHTS
- Natasha Howard scored six consecutive points in the fourth quarter to bring the Storm within five of the Mystics with 6:06 left in the game. Later, with 49 seconds left to play, she tied up the contest at 71-71.
- The Storm shot 60.0 percent (9-15 FG) from the field and held the Mystics to 18.8 percent (3-16 FG) in the final frame.
- Alysha Clark aided in the Storms win, recording six points and a season-high six rebounds and five assists.
- The Storm beat the Mystics on the road for the first time since Sept. 9, 2016. Seattle will return to the nation’s capital on Aug. 14. With wins in Indiana and Washington, D.C., the Storm won back-to-back games for the first time this season and moves to two games over .500.
- Sami Whitcomb led the Storm bench with nine points in 19 minutes of action.
- Jordin Canada left the game with 1:36 left in the first half to be evaluated for an apparent left knee injury. She would not return to the game, finishing the night with four points and three rebounds.
WASHINGTON HIGHLIGHTS
- Kristi Toliver picked up her second technical of the night with under a minute left in the first quarter and exited the game with five points and four assists.
- Tianna Hawkins’ 3-pointer at the 7:18 mark of the second quarter was the sixth made three-pointer for the Mystics, matching their total output (6-of-28) in their loss to Connecticut earlier in the week. Washington started 6-of-8 from three-point range with five different players connecting from beyond the arc. After its hot start, Washington lost its touch, going 3-of-18 from deep the rest of the way.
- Elena Delle Donne scored a season-high 19 points, making her final bucket on the Mystics’ first possession of the fourth quarter to extend Washington’s lead to 13 points.
- Washington forced 20 turnovers that led to 26 points. Mystics forward Aerial Powers scored 16 points off the bench, her third consecutive game with at least 14 points. Powers set a season high with five rebounds and tied her season high with two assists.
- Mystics center LaToya Sanders recorded four blocks, a Mystics season high, and has now recorded multiple blocks in five of Washington’s seven games this season.
- Mystics guard Natasha Cloud scored eight points to go along with five assists, her fifth game with season with 5+ assists.
NEXT GAME
The Storm rounds out its four-game road trip with a stop at Mohegan Sun Arena to face the Connecticut Sun on Sunday, June 16 at 3:30 p.m./ET. The game will be nationally televised on ABC. Seattle returns home to Angel of the Winds Arena on Friday, June 21 for ‘SUEperhero Night’ at 7:30 p.m./PT on CBS Sports Network.