Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu leads Seattle with 10 points and nine rebounds

SEATTLE – Through the first 15 minutes on Monday night, the Seattle Storm had complete command of their WNBA preseason game against Phoenix.

But once the Mercury gradually claimed momentum, they never gave it back.

Phoenix wiped out a 17-point second-quarter deficit, gradually building as much as an eight-point advantage in the fourth quarter on the way to a 77-71 victory in Climate Pledge Arena.

Rookie center Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu came off the bench to lead Seattle with 10 points and nine rebounds in just 13 minutes of playing time, and hit 4-of-5 from the field.

The Storm return just three veterans from last year’s squad, and all three started on Monday. Ezi Magbegor and Jewell Loyd tallied eight points apiece, and Mercedes Russell had four, to go along with five rebounds. Loyd hit the opening basket of the game, as the Storm started off with a string of three straight three-pointers on the way to an 11-0 lead.

Phoenix got within two at 22-20 early in the second quarter before Seattle went on a 17-2 scoring run to make it 39-22. The first five points of that run came from first-round draft choice Jordan Horston from Tennessee. Those wound up being her only points of the night, but she also logged three rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one blocked shot.

The Mercury got within 43-36 by halftime. They finally forged ahead at 52-51 on a jumper by Essence Booker with 3:42 left in the third quarter. The Storm regained the lead one more time at 53-52 on a lay-in by Magbegor. Then a three-pointer by Sam Thomas at the 2:50 mark put Phoenix back on top, 55-53, and it stayed in front the rest of the way.

The Storm’s starting five included free agent signee Kia Nurse, who played her first three years in the league with New York, then joined Phoenix in 2021. Nurse tore her right ACL in a 2021 playoff game with the Mercury and sat out the entire 2022 season. She finished with five points on Monday.

Point guard Sami Whitcomb made her return to Seattle, coming off the bench for 12 minutes of action and scoring two points. Whitcomb, a University of Washington product, played from 2017-20 with the Storm and was part of the 2018 and 2020 championship teams. She spent the past two seasons with New York, then rejoined the Storm as a free agent in February.

Jade Loville, a 5-foot-11 rookie guard out of Arizona who prepped at Skyline High School in Sammamish across Lake Washington from Seattle, chipped in four points off the bench.