Diggins-Smith pours in 26 and Loyd adds 20 for Seattle which clinches playoff berth despite loss

SEATTLE – In a game of back-and-forth double-digit scoring runs, the Seattle Storm had a big one.

But the New York Liberty had the last one.

Skylar Diggins-Smith poured in 26 points and Jewell Loyd added 20, but Breanna Stewart countered with 32, and the Liberty hung on for a 98-85 victory on Friday night in front of a sold-out Climate Pledge Arena crowd of 15,800.

However, the Storm (19-12), is still on its way to the WNBA playoffs. The magic number to clinch a spot was one – either a Seattle win or an Atlanta loss at Las Vegas. The Dream did fall to the Aces, 83-72. This will be Seattle’s 19^th trip to the postseason in its 25-year history.

Midway through the third quarter of what was a fast-paced game, the Storm had their biggest lead of the night at 65-58. That was thanks in part to a 23-9 surge to finish the first half and a 14-9 run to open the second.

But from there, the league-leading Liberty (27-6) regained command. They outscored the Storm to end the third quarter, 16-6 (including the final six points), taking a 74-71 lead into the fourth.

New York then scored the first five points of the final period. That capped an 11-0 burst, to make it 79-71 as Seattle didn’t get its first point of the fourth until 7:13 remained on a jumper by Sami Whitcomb.

That cut the margin to six at 79-73. The Storm got within six on three other occasions, the last time at 89-83 on a putback by Nneka Ogwumikewith 2:59 remaining for the last of her 15 points. But the Liberty scored nine of the game’s final 11 points, finishing off its 24-14 fourth quarter.

Of the 24 points during those closing 10 minutes, nine came on second-chance opportunities, as New York out-rebounded Seattle, 15-3, with seven at the offensive end. For the game, the Liberty had a 45-17 advantage, 17-6 at the offensive end for 19 second-chance points.

“That was the biggest thing,” Quinn said of disparity on the boards. “It was one of our keys today. You just can’t win games giving up that many offensive rebounds and that many points on offensive rebounds.

“You have to finish plays with rebounds,” she added. “Against a team like New York, you have to be sharp. You can’t have a lot of miscommunications.”

With 7:30 left in second quarter, the Storm found themselves down 38-26 after a 14-0 Liberty scoring run, and Quinn called her second timeout in a span of 73 seconds.

Seattle finally got back on the board when Diggins-Smith went up for a runner. New York pushed it back to 12 at 40-28 on a driving lay-in by Stewart for two of her 15 second-quarter points.

The Storm ran off 10 straight, part of their 23-9 run to finish the half, getting within 40-38 and forcing Liberty coach Sandy Brondello to call her second timeout in a span of 1:54.

Down by just one at 42-41, Loyd drained a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner to put Seattle up, 44-42. A scoop lay-in by Diggins-Smith, another trey by Loyd, and a driving lay-in by Ogwumike kept the Storm ahead the rest of the half, and they took a 51-49 edge into the break.

BY THE NUMBERS

-- Seattle had a solid shooting night, hitting 46.5 percent (33 of 71). But New York was even better, hitting 50.7 percent (34 of 67). That included 12 of 26 from 3-point range.

-- The Storm tied a franchise record with just five turnovers, with none in the first quarter and just one for the entire first half. It was the seventh time this season they’ve kept their total to single digits, and their second straight, having had just seven on Wednesday against Atlanta.

-- At the other end, they forced 18 New York turnovers, converting those into 24 points.

-- Diggins-Smith’s 26-point performance was the 46^th time in her career that she has gone for 25-plus.

-- Stewart’s 32-point night was her second in a row. She also had that many in Wednesday’s 94-88 loss at Los Angeles. On Friday, she hit 10 of 16 from the field (3 of 4 from downtown) and was 9 of 10 at the foul line.

-- Sabrina Ionescu finished with 25 points, getting 20 after halftime.

-- Diggins-Smith’s seven assists give her 201 for the year. That is now the third-highest single-season total in Storm history. Sue Bird had 221 in 2003 and again in 2018.

UP NEXT

The Storm starts a three-game road trip on Sunday at Connecticut, tipping off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time (Fox 13+ / Prime Video Washington / NBA TV). They’ll play consecutive games against the Sun, meeting them again on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

—— StormBasketball.com ——