Storm falter down the stretch in home loss to Atlanta Dream
By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - At halftime, the Storm led the upstart Atlanta Dream by eleven points at 45-34. Seemingly in control on all fronts, the Storm defense held All-Star duo Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard to a combined 21 points on 8-for-20 shooting. Seattle’s interior prowess on defense turned the paint into restricted air space, forcing those two stars to take 12 of their shots from outside, while only netting three of them.
Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike warms up prior to her teams loss to the Atlanta Dream on Friday, May 30th, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Seattle was thriving offensively, with five players scoring at least four points and shooting 50.7% as a team.
That was before the Dream’s duo handed the Storm it’s second straight loss after self-destructing in the second half, 94-87. Howard and Gray combined for 40 points on 12-for-19 shooting, including 12-for-15 at the free-throw line.
Atlanta Dream guards Allisha Gray (#15) and Rhyne Howard (#10) gave the Seattle Storm problems in a big second half, as the Dream went on to beat the Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on Friday, May 30th, 2025. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
The Storm crafted a 17-point lead in the third quarter and appeared to be on autopilot towards a home win before the Dream took control and never relinquished it. A tale of two halves has been a recurring issue for Seattle since last season. The trend reared its head as the ability to generate quality possessions on both sides of the ball evaporated in the final 15 minutes of the game.
After keeping Atlanta in check with only 34 first-half points, Seattle allowed 29 in the third quarter and 31 in the fourth. Howard and Gray (40 points) nearly outscored the Storm’s 41-point second-half.
Seattle led 51-34 early in the third quarter and was outscored 60-36 for a quarter and a half.
“They turned up their aggression and with that, they were getting to the basket and getting fouled. We weren’t as disciplined at the end of defensive plays, which led to fouls and and-1s. Then, of course, the rebounding was something that really lacked for us in the second half.”
The tide shifted in the Dream’s favor when Storm guard Erica Wheeler, who made her first start of the season in place of injured Alysha Clark (left ankle), was assessed a technical foul for debating a call. Gray converted a four-point play that cut Atlanta’s deficit to 57-48.
Early in the final frame, Gray gave the Dream the lead the rest of the way after drilling two of three free throws and draining a three-pointer to go up 75-70 with 7:28 left.
Down by two, Seattle was unable to keep Gray out of the lane, where she drew a foul and hit two free throws to put the Dream up 84-80. Howard got in on the fun and connected on a pull-up jumper, giving Atlanta a 91-82 lead.
Howard finished with 33 points on 12-of-24 shooting, six rebounds, and five assists, while Gray had 28 points on 8-for-15 shooting for Atlanta, which won its first game at Climate Pledge Arena and snapped an eight-game losing streak in Seattle.
“I felt I wasn’t matched up with Rhyne as much as I wanted to be,” forward Gabby Williams said. “She got loose from me a couple of times.”
The Dream shot 55.3% in the second half and 76.5% (13-of-17) on free throws and received seven and-1 opportunities — the most in a half in WNBA history.
“That’s how I’ve been playing defense all year, and it hasn’t been getting called,” Williams said. “It was kind of a mental test,t all right. I need to adjust to this refereeing crew. You just have a million thoughts in your head.
“And of course, they were building off those and-1s. It was depleting for us. It wasn’t even about how they were being called. It was about how they were being aggressive to the rim, and they were putting us in tough spots.”
Our game gallery as the Seattle Storm fell to the Atlanta Dream on Friday, May 30th, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Quick Storm notes
Seattle recorded a season-high 19 second-chance points against Atlanta.
Four Storm starters finished in double-digits, and all of the starters grabbed at least three rebounds.
Seattle’s 52 points in the paint matched the team’s season high and outpaced all but one Storm game from last season.
The Storm’s defense held Atlanta to just 32.2% (13-for-38) shooting from the field before halftime.
Seattle point guard Skylar Diggins led the Storm with 20 points, shooting 60% (6-for-10) from the field and 89% (8-for-9) at the line. Diggins tied Camille Little for the ninth-most 20-point scoring performances with Seattle (13).
Seattle guard Erica Wheeler got her first start in a Storm uniform, contributing on both sides of the ball while reaching 7,000 minutes played in her WNBA career. She’s just the fourth undrafted player to achieve this milestone. Wheeler put in 14 points and added five assists while grabbing five rebounds and a steal. She became the first player in franchise history to record at least 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists in their first start with the Storm.
Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike posted 16 points and six rebounds, and with her final rebound of the game, passed Taj McWilliams-Franklin for No. 10 on the all-time rebounds list (3,014).
Seattle forward Gabby Williams finished with 14 points on 60% (6-for-10) shooting from the field and grabbed two steals, including her 100th in a Storm uniform to tie Sue Bird for the third-fastest to 100 steals in franchise history (64 games). Williams scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game, tying her longest career streak of double-digit scoring performances. She also knocked down two threes to extend her career-best streak of games with multiple three-pointers to five games.
What’s next?
Following tonight’s home loss to the Atlanta Dream to begin a three-game homestand, our Seattle Storm are back in action on Sunday after a day of practice tomorrow. That Sunday, June 1st game at Climate Pledge Arena is a rematch of last Sunday’s game as the Las Vegas Aces are back in town for their second battle against our Seattle Storm this season. That game will be broadcast locally on KOMO4 and the CW, while being available in non-blacked out areas on WNBA League Pass. For those in the Seattle area, unable to attend that game at Climate Pledge Arena with us, and looking to be surrounded by fans of the Storm when you’re watching this game , you can always head to the official home of Circling Seattle Sports: Rough & Tumble Pub! With more than enough televisions for ALL of the sports, local brews, great food, there isn't a better place to catch a game and R&T is an especially great place to watch any Storm game considering that it’s Seattle's home to women's sports!
This game is the first “Commissioners Cup” game that the Storm will play this year, as the first six games in the month of June that Seattle plays will all be in that in-season tournament. The Storm will be looking to get back on the winning track in this game, and they’ll do so against an Aces team that will surely be motivated to get revenge on Seattle for how the last contest between these teams went. Las Vegas bounced back well from that blowout defeat last Sunday with a strong victory over the Sparks, powered by a big performance from A’ja Wilson. Tipoff for this game will be at 3PM PDT.
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