If there was ever a blueprint for Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn to use in practically guaranteeing wins for her squad, the WNBA community saw it on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn. The Storm leveraged a 22-6 third quarter, kept rebounding nearly dead even and dominated the turnover battle to win a second straight game against the defending champion 12-6 New York Liberty.
The win moves Seattle to 12-7 on the season and builds even more confidence following its thriller of a victory against the Atlanta Dream on Thursday.
The Storm got plenty of strong performances, as their All-Star trio of Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins and Gabby Williams all left unique marks on the game. Ogwumike, as usual, was a steady scoring presence in a high-paced setting and finished with 15 points and six rebounds while Diggins finished with 13 points, six assists and two steals. Williams showed why she’s an All-Star for the first time at age 28 with a team-high 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a game-high three steals. Veterans Alysha Clark and Erica Wheeler each chipped in five points and two steals.
Williams is soaking in every moment of her career season with the Storm.
“I couldn’t be happier that I’m doing it with Seattle, because they’ve never put pressure on me to be anything else but myself,” Williams said. “Even if I wasn’t an All-Star, I would still be happy because I know what I mean to my teammates.”
The bigs in All-Defensive center Ezi Magbegor and No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga were imposing down low. Magbegor scored 14 points by shooting a game-high eight free throws and blocked two shots. Malonga had what could prove to be a breakout performance, tallying 11 points and a career-high eight rebounds in just 10 minutes of play.
It wasn’t a quiet breakout for the 19-year-old, who is the third-youngest player in WNBA history. Malonga was calling for the ball consistently against Breanna Stewart, who is an elite shot blocker. She would hit a fadeaway over Stewart in the third to put an exclamation point on a 19-point Storm lead and looked the most comfortable she has on a WNBA court yet.
“Dom doesn’t care who is in front of her,” Williams, who plays with Malonga in international play with France, said. “(Quinn) got into her last game because she wasn’t ready … the way she responded tonight was like a vet.”
But the second quarter belonged to the defending champs, as All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu finished the half with 20 points on 4-5 3-point shooting. The Storm trailed 44-41 going into the locker room and Quinn knew her squad would have to slow the sharpshooter down from her game-breaking pace.
“We were too flat,” Quinn said of the defense on Ionescu in the first half. “Ezi did a great job of setting the tone there. … When we are capable of switching, we are switching. We are very capable of defending one through five.”
The aggressive switching paid dividends, as Ionescu scored just two points in the second half on 1-10 shooting. The Storm also held two-time MVP Breanna Stewart to just eight points and six rebounds while forcing 17 turnovers.
After a confusing start to the season fraught with inconsistent offense and defensive lapses, the Storm have settled into an identity: Disrupt opposing offenses by forcing turnovers and work the ball around the horn on offense for the best shot, preferably in the paint. Malonga seems like she could unlock a new level of paint prominence at 6-foot-6.
The Storm will get a chance to test its blueprint against Connecticut on Wednesday to wrap up its four-game road trip. Seattle will face the Sun again on Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena as the WNBA season reaches its halfway point.
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