By Wyatt Yearout
The Seattle Storm kicked off its road trip defeating the Chicago Sky 101-83 to complete the series sweep and improve its record to 17-6 on the season.
Jewell Loyd narrowly missed a triple-double in her homecoming game, tallying 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Breanna Stewart put in 30-plus points for the second-straight game and nearly completed her fourth-straight double-double with nine rebounds.
The Storm scored 100 points for the fourth time this season as well as dishing out a season-high 28 assists as a team.
DEFINING MOMENTS
After Chicago had cut the lead to just two points late in the second period prompting a Seattle timeout, the Storm put together a 19-4 run to close out the half and take a 17-point lead into the third quarter at 54-37.
The Sky was able to get its offense going and put a small dent in the lead in the third, at one point cutting the lead to 13 that once stood at 20. However, the Storm was able to close the third quarter strong and extend its lead back to 19 at the end of the third at 78-59.
Chicago opened up the fourth on a 7-0 run before Stewart broke the seal with a bucket plus the foul around the eight-minute mark. Seattle got the offense going from that point and extended its lead back to 18. The Sky could not put together a run down the stretch, and the Storm was able to ride its cushion the remainder of the game and secure the victory.
HUGHES’ TAKE
Head coach Dan Hughes really credited the win to his players’ willingness to share the ball and their spacing, which helped lead to the season-high assist total.
“I thought the ball really moved well. Our spacing was good, people were very opened minded to get the good shot, and we had some nice pockets where I thought it was really fun to watch us offensively.”
NOTES
- A day after being named to her WNBA-record 11th WNBA All-Star Game, Storm guard Sue Bird tied a season-high with 11 assists, which she has now achieved three times.
- Loyd eclipsed the 20-point mark for the eighth time in 2018.
- Stewart, the WNBA’s top scorer who came into the day averaging 22.5 PPG, posted 30 points, her second-straight game breaking the 30-point plateau. She nailed a season-high-tying four three-pointers, going 4-for-6 from deep, and 10-for-16 from the field to finish with 30 points.
- Storm forward Alysha Clark connected on a season-high-tying three three-pointers (3-for-6), finishing with 14 points, her eighth game this season in double-figures.
- Seattle improved to 15-2 with the starting lineup of Bird, Loyd, Stewart, Clark and Natasha Howard.
- Seattle improved to 13-0 when leading after the first quarter and 15-1 when leading at the break.
- Seattle earned its fifth sweep all-time against Chicago (2006, 2007, 2008, 2014).
UP NEXT
Seattle continues its road stretch on Friday against the Connecticut Sun, with tip-off set for 4 p.m./PT.