When Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn delivered postgame pressers during Seattle’s recent six-game losing streak, she looked for the positives. Practically all the losses were close, and the Storm could say they were improving marginally when asked tough questions.
Tuesday’s 95-75 loss to the Indiana Fever, which snapped a refreshing three-game winning streak punctuated by a game-winner on Sunday, didn’t have many redeeming qualities for Seattle.
Reserves checked in at the 6:20 mark of the fourth quarter as the Storm had to accept the fact that they were outclassed by a short-handed team missing superstar Caitlin Clark. Indiana All-Stars Aliyah Boston (27 points, nine rebounds) and Kelsey Mitchell (21 points) combined for 48 points while Odyssey Sims contributed a tough 22 points and six assists to lead Indy’s scoring.
The 20-point loss dropped Seattle to 20-19 and to the eighth seed with five games to play, and bumped Indiana to 20-18 and into the Storm’s previous sixth seed. The top eight teams in the WNBA qualify for the playoffs, which will begin in September.
But it wasn’t just isolation scoring that the Storm struggled to defend. Seattle was caught flat-footed on backdoor cuts off the ball and struggled to defend the pick-and-roll all evening. Add to the fact that Seattle was doubled up on rebounding 42-21 and scored just three fastbreak points, and you have a recipe for disaster.
All-Star Nneka Ogwumike (17 points, 2-2 3-pointers) attributed the off-ball struggles to a lack of physicality and energy from the Storm, and to failed attempts to stop Mitchell from getting downhill by throwing more defenders her way.
“There’s no excuse for what happened today, other than not matching the energy of the other team,” Ogwumike said. “We have to get to a space where we can match or exceed our opponent’s energy.”
The Fever, playing without Clark due to a lingering groin injury, have had the energy in this series all season. Tuesday’s win meant Indiana will be the only team to sweep Seattle in 2025.
Ogwumike followed up her 30-point, buzzer-beating performance against Washington on Sunday with another efficient showing, while Skylar Diggins (six points, eight assists) tied a career-high in blocks with four as Seattle totaled nine. Brittney Sykes chipped in 12 points and had six in the third quarter as Seattle shot a solid 47.5% from the field, but shot 10 fewer shots than Indiana.
Gabby Williams had just two points and didn’t look like herself after colliding with Indiana’s Lexie Hull in a head-to-head hit that took both players out of the game for a spell early on. Rookie Dominique Malonga had a decent showing, with eight points, six rebounds and two blocks. She struggled to get her normal looks against a strong post defender in Boston, however. Ezi Magbegor scored six early on, but finished with eight points and three blocks.
Erica Wheeler (six points) knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the lead to six at the end of the first quarter, as Mitchell and Sims combined for 19 to give Seattle fits in the opening period. Seattle would get used to that feeling, as the Storm didn’t win a single quarter in the game and trailed nearly the entire night.
Boston made the second and third quarters hers, scoring 18 points across the frames by backing down a Seattle front court with few answers. Diggins notched her four blocks by the early second quarter, but that didn’t stop the Fever from cutting off-ball while Mitchell drew in defenders.
Thanks to a controlled offense, the Fever took an 11-point lead into the half and built on it later on. That lead grew to 18 by the end of the third as off-ball movement and poor pick-and-roll defense continued to compromise Seattle. The rebounding disparity grew in the second half as the Fever rolled to a 22-4 second-chance-points advantage.
Quinn credited the Fever’s versatility, explaining that their ability to fight toward the ball on handoffs allowed them to fake movements at the ballhandler and get to the rim instead, leaving Seattle defenders at the perimeter.
“A couple of things that weren’t happening was our pressure on the ball and then our overplaying,” Quinn said. “There was no help, the help was late when it was there.”
The fourth quarter felt like a forgone conclusion, and Seattle played like it.
Indiana jumped out to a 12-3 run and a 27-point lead as Quinn waved the white flag by the midway point of the final frame and inserted her bench. Seattle finished the second half outrebounded 23-8 and mustered just three fastbreak points — a far cry from the 13 they usually earn by playing in transition.
One thing Ogwumike and Quinn could agree on? The Storm didn’t make Indiana feel them enough.
“Once they recognized how we were guarding on-ball screens, I don’t think we ramped up the aggression the way we could’ve … to make it difficult on-ball,” Ogwumike said.
Energy and aggression weren’t present for Seattle on Tuesday, but it’ll need plenty of both on Thursday. The Storm will take on the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx on the road on Thursday as every game begins to feel like a playoff bout.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
