SEATTLE–Trailing at halftime, the Storm made a push to get back into the game and cut the deficit to six but Connecticut went on a strong run to put the game out of reach as Seattle fell 79-58 on Tuesday night.

“The way our team plays, everything we do is done as a team and we weren’t moving well without the ball,” Storm head coach Jenny Boucek said. “We weren’t available for each other the way that we need to. We weren’t quick enough.

“I give Connecticut credit. They were very physical and they put a lot of pressure on us and we had a hard time seeing what we were giving us.”

With the Storm trailing by 11 at the half, it was sharp early in the second half and put together 6-2 run, capped by an Alysha Clark basket and free throw, to cut the Connecticut lead to seven.

She finished with 11 points on 4-for-6 from the field.

Sue Bird hit a layup to make it a six-point game but Connecticut pushed back much like it did in the first half with a 9-0 run with five from Alex Bentley to take a 55-40 advantage.

Seattle (2-3) committed 22 turnovers and Connecticut took advantage with 32 points off the Storm miscues.

“Their young, very athletic. That’s what they like they do,” Storm guard Sue Bird said. “I don’t know if we made them look better than they are or that’s the real them but they have been winning so they’re doing something right.”

Connecticut (4-1) had four players score in double figures, led by Chelsea Gray a career-high with 16 points.

The Storm defense did its part to keep the team in it with six blocks, six steals and held Connecticut to 43.1 percent shooting.

The Storm will get a few days of rest before returning to action on Sunday against defending WNBA champion Phoenix.

Seattle played suffocating defense to begin the game and held Connecticut scoreless for the first 3:05 and all the while the Storm’s ball movement resulted in five baskets in the lane as they took an early 10-5 lead.

The Storm had five assists on their first six buckets.

With Seattle up 22-17 early in the second quarter, Connecticut got five points from Chelsea Gray during a 9-0 run to put the Sun up by four. Connecticut ended the half on a 24-8 run and were led by Little, who finished with half with 10 points.

Crystal Langhorne scored all of her team-high 13 points in the first half.

NOTES:

Camille Little, who spent seven seasons in Seattle prior to being traded in the offseason, received a rousing ovation from the crowd at KeyArena. She scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds on the night… With 3:25 in the first quarter, former Storm Shekinna Stricklen checked in to the game and also received a loud ovation in her first visit back to Seattle since the trade… Jewell Loyd scored eight points off the bench on 3-for-7 from the field… After recording a career-high in points on Sunday, Abby Bishop picked up a career-high four blocks… Jenna O’Hea led the team with five assists.