The Seattle Storm are coming back to Everett.
The WNBA resumes play this week following its All-Star break, and the Storm are making their return to Everett’s Angel of the Winds Arena.
The Storm, who are without a permanent home while the new Seattle arena is being built, played three games at Angel of the Winds Arena at the start of the season. Seattle, the defending WNBA champion, held its ring ceremony prior to defeating the Phoenix Mercury 77-68 on opening day on May 25, topped the Minnesota Lynx 84-77 on June 4, then blew out the Los Angeles Sparks 84-62 on June 21.
That’s right, the Storm are a perfect 3-0 in Everett.
How have the Storm been outside of Angel of the Winds? Well, the Storm are a .500 team away from Everett, as they are 12-9 overall and in third place in the WNBA’s Western Conference. In its other temporary home, Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle is 5-3.
So the Storm seem to have a little something going on at Angel of the Winds.
Seattle plays its next two home games in Everett because of building conflicts at Hec Ed, so the Storm face the Washington Mystics on Friday and the Dallas Wings on Aug. 8, both at 7 p.m. at Angel of the Winds.
Seattle, led by All-Stars Natasha Howard (18.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks per game) and Jewell Loyd (14.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game), is in position to make the postseason at sixth overall in the league, despite being without reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart and legendary point guard Sue Bird the entire season because of injury. The Storm have an inside track to the postseason as the league’s top eight teams make the playoffs, and the current No. 9 team is the New York Liberty at 8-11, so Seattle has a three-game cushion with 13 games remaining.
But seeding is also important, as the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds receive double byes and the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds receive single byes. So positioning is critical, particularly when it comes to avoiding the one-and-done situation in the first two rounds, and Seattle is just percentage points out of fourth.
Therefore, continuing to win games in Everett is crucial to the Storm.
The game against the Mystics is a rematch of last year’s championship finals, which Seattle won 3-0. However, the Mystics are 12-6 and feature a pair of All-Stars in Elena Della Donne and Kristi Toliver. Dallas, on the other hand, has the league’s second-worst record at 5-14, has lost five straight and has yet to win on the road this season.
So how will the Storm fare in their final two regular season games at Angel of the Winds? Make your prediction here:
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