Skylar Diggins-Smith fills up the stat sheet in Storm debut
EDMONTON, Alberta — Skylar Diggins-Smith tallied 14 points to lead Seattle in her first game with her new team and Joyner Holmes came off the bench to add 13, but the Storm was edged 84-79 by Los Angeles in the second WNBA Canada Game and the preseason opener for both squads Saturday night.
Diggins-Smith led the way for the Storm with 14 points, adding five assists, four steals, four rebounds, and a blocked shot in her Seattle debut connecting on 5-of-8 from the field in 20 minutes of play. Holmes added 13 points, four steals and a pair of assists on 6-of-9 shooting while Sami Whitcomb and Jewell Loyd each tallied 12 points in the contest.
Seattle’s defense held the Sparks to just 13 points in the second quarter to build a 44-38 halftime lead. Los Angeles answered back in the second half, using a 20-8 third-quarter run to take a 66-60 lead late in the period. The Sparks led by as many as 10 in the fourth quarter before Seattle closed to within one possession thanks to a pair of Jade Melbourne free throws which made it 82-79 with 1:10 left. The Storm made a pair of defensive stops over the final minute but could not cash them in on the other end as the Sparks held on for the victory.
Seattle forced 25 Los Angeles turnovers and turned them into 25 points while committing just 10 miscues of its own. However, the biggest advantage came in the rebounding column where the Sparks outrebounded the Storm 43-19 including a 22-9 advantage in the second half.
The Storm wraps up its preseason schedule on Tuesday, May 7, at 7:00 p.m., hosting the Phoenix Mercury at Climate Pledge. Seattle opens the regular season with Opening Night presented by Providence Swedish, hosting the Minnesota Lynx at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14.
—— StormBasketball.com ——