ATLANTA – Alysha Clark made her WNBA season debut and Natasha Howard notched her second double-double of the year to help the Storm to an 82-66 road win against the Atlanta Dream.

The Storm appeared off to another slow start, making just four of its first 15 attempts from the field, including a one-of-six effort by Howard. With just over two minutes left in the first quarter, Jordin Canada made back-to-back baskets, sparking a run through the end of the first half when the Storm shot eight-of-15 and led by as many as 20 points.

Facing an 18-point deficit, the Dream went on an 11-4 run to open the second half, forcing Storm interim head coach Gary Kloppenburg to call a timeout at the 5:47 mark. Atlanta’s 2018 All-WNBA First Team member Tiffany Hayes netted nine points in the third quarter, but the Dream failed to cut the Storm’s lead single-digits and finished the night shooting 33 percent from the field. Seattle once again had trouble connecting from beyond the arc, going three-of-11 from deep. Last season, the Storm averaged a league-high 9.0 three-pointers per game.

DEFINING MOMENTS 

Alysha Clark tasted her first WNBA action of the 2019 season, checking in at the 3:28 mark of the first quarter. Clark wasted little time getting on the board, knocking down a three with 7.1 seconds left of the first quarter as the Storm’s shot clock expired.

Natasha Howard’s driving layup with less than 50 seconds left in the first half pushed the Storm’s lead to 20 points (43-23). 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Natasha Howard grabbed her 10th rebound of the game at the 4:18 mark in the third quarter to secure her second double-double of the season.

Snaking through two Atlanta defenders, 5-foot-6 Jordin Canada turned a driving layup into a three-point play at the 4:38 mark in the third quarter (54-38).

KEY STATS OF THE GAME

After starting one-of-eight from the field in the first quarter, Natasha Howard rallied to lead the team with 19 points, 14 rebounds and four assists for her second double-double of the year. Three of Howard’s last six double-doubles have come against Atlanta (also on 6/10/18 and 7/6/18).

Both benches made strong contributions: Atlanta’s Monique Billings sand Nia Coffey combined for 17 points (8-16 FG) and 16 rebounds; while Seattle’s Mercedes Russell and Alysha Clark together accounted for 21 points (7-14 FG) and 12 boards.

Jewell Loyd and Jordin Canada both had notable appearances as Loyd collected a season-high seven rebounds and Canada nearly recorded a double-double with seven assists and 12 points. Together, Seattle’s starting backcourt combined for 22 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists.

With the win, Seattle improves to 13-13 all-time against the Dream.

UP NEXT

Seattle concludes a three-game road trip facing the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena tomorrow at 5 p.m. PT. Seattle is 26-33 all-time on the second night of a back-to-back slate.