Four of Seattle’s starters scored in double-figures as the Storm wins its fourth-straight

SEATTLE – Jantel Lavender picked up the first double-double of the season for Seattle with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Jewell Loyd poured in 22 points and a season-high six assists as the Storm beat the New York Liberty 92-61 on Sunday afternoon at Climate Pledge Arena.

The victory was the fourth straight for the Storm (5-3) as the team improves to 5-1 at home on the season. The Liberty fall to 1-7 on the heels of their seventh-straight loss.

Lavender connected on 6-of-8 from the field in the game, recording season-highs in points and rebounds while making her third start. But the shorthanded Storm—which was still without three players including two starters due to Health and Safety Protocols—received contributions from all nine players to see the court in green and white.

Seattle started a bit slow in the game, missing its first four shots from the field before everything started to fall into place. A Briann January runner would give the Storm its first points two minutes in and ignited a 17-3 run as Seattle hit 10 of its next 12 shots from the field to go up 21-8 at the 2:57 mark. New York closed the gap to eight at the end of the first quarter, but the Storm would dominate in the second quarter, outscoring the Liberty 26-8 in the period to take a 49-23 lead the break. The Liberty would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.

Loyd led the way from beyond the arc, making four of Seattle’s season-high 13 three-pointers to give her a game-high 22 points in the game.

Breanna Stewart stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, eight rebounds, six steals, five assists, and two blocks, becoming just the fourth player in WNBA history to post those numbers or better in a game.

January, starting at point guard for the second straight game with Bird out, scored a season-high 12 points. Storm newcomer Kaela Davis had an impressive debut for Seattle, adding 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

The Storm has a break for a few days before returning to action on Friday to host Dallas at Climate Pledge Arena. Tip is at 7pm. The game kicks off a busy stretch of 15 games in 34 days for Seattle with 10 of those games having just one day off in between.

—— StormBasketball.com ——

STORY OF THE GAME

• The Storm dominated much of the game, opening with an early 17-3 run and did not look back.
• Seattle outscored New York 26-8 in the second quarter, holding the Liberty to 11.1% shooting (2-for-18) in the quarter to stretch the lead to lead 49-23 at the half. New York would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.

KEY STATS OF THE GAME

• Breanna Stewart filled all stat lines with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, six steals and two blocks. That made her just the fourth player in WNBA history with those numbers or better, joining Swin Cash, Candace Parker, and Tina Charles.
• The Storm shot a team-best 54.2% from the three-point line setting a new season high with 13 three-pointers made.

STORM HIGHLIGHTS

• Five Storm players finished the game in double-digits: Jewell Loyd (22), Stewart (14), Jantel Lavender (12), Briann January (12) and Kaela Davis (11).
• Loyd poured in 22 points connecting 8-for-15 from the field, adding six assists and three rebounds.
• Lavender recorded the first Storm double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds—both season-highs.
• January scored 12 points and contributed and contributed with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. She is just three points shy of 3,000 for her career.
• Kaela Davis went 4-for-7 from the field for a total of 11 points—her most points since scoring 14 vs Minnesota while playing for Dallas on Aug 22, 2019. She also added two rebounds and two steals.

LIBERTY HIGHLIGHTS

• Han Xu led the Liberty with 13 points and eight rebounds.
• Natasha Howard scored 10 points while contributing with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

 NEXT GAME

The Storm hosts the Dallas Wings at Climate Pledge Arena, on Friday, June 3, to continue the longest homestand in team history. The game will be broadcasted locally on FOX 13+ and Prime Video.