Storm Set The Connecticut Sun In Rematch, 79-65
By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - On Wednesday night, the Connecticut Sun exploded on a 27-9 run in the fourth quarter to shock the Seattle Storm for their third win of the season in Uncasville.
48 hours later, Seattle crafted a 19-3 push in the final frame to close out Connecticut for good, 79-65, and get a key bounce back to begin a four-game homestand.
“On any given night, any team can win in this league, no matter what the records indicate. The other night, it felt like we didn’t get over the hump when we were supposed to. Today, I felt like we did.”
Pregame sights and scenes from the Seattle Storm home win over the Connecticut Sun on Friday, July 11th, 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Liz Wolter for Circling Seattle Sports)
Storm All-Star forward Gabby Williams led the team in points, scoring 18 on 60% shooting with five helpers and three steals. After scoring just two points in the first half without a made field goal, ten-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike scored 14 in the second half with five assists, two blocks, and one steal.
Seven-time All-Star Skylar Diggins and Ezi Magbegor each added 14 points. Diggins had five assists and zero turnovers. At 25, Magbegor recorded her 300th block and became the third youngest WNBA player to reach the threshold behind Lauren Jackson and Brittney Griner.
The first quarter in the rematch on Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena left a lot to be desired. Connecticut held Seattle scoreless for nearly four minutes, where they missed their first six shots before Skylar Diggins ended the drought with a pull-up jumper. Another cold spell ensued, and the Storm couldn’t buy a solid offensive possession for two minutes before Diggins came to the rescue once more with the Storm’s first three-pointer in the game at 3:07. The team went 4-for-17 from the field to end the first.
After several ties to start the game, Seattle took its first lead late in the second quarter when Erica Wheeler nailed a mid-range pull-up. Ogwumike found Erica Wheeler on a dribble handoff for a three-pointer, giving Seattle its first lead of the game with 1:57 left, 29-28. It wasn’t enough as the Storm went into the locker room at halftime down 33-31.
Both teams struggled to start the third quarter, but Ogwumike would not be denied, scoring 10 of the team’s 24 points in the frame. Seattle notched its first fastbreak score of the game at the 5:39 mark in the third quarter, capping a 9-3 run before Sun coach Rachid Meziane called a timeout.
Ogwumike, Williams, and Diggins combined for 22 of the team’s 24 points in the frame. Williams went on a 3-0 rally with a free-throw and jumper to put Seattle up 55-52.
“I’m glad we had a great competitive game, and I think we needed this type of game. We need to be able to grind things out, keep getting stops even when shots aren’t going in. We need to understand when we get a stop how to capitalize on that type of stop. We were able to get a gritty win, and that’s going to make us better in the long run.”
After Sun guard Leila Lacan scored on a layup, the Storm went on a barnstorming 15-4 run down the stretch and into clutch time. Nearing the end of the game, Sun guard Bria Hartley fouled Diggins roughly near midcourt, where Diggins stood her ground before Williams picked Diggins up and took her away.
Wheeler had six points, five assists, and four steals. Recently signed guard Tiffany Mitchell poured in five points in her 20 minutes off the bench, adding three rebounds to her stats on the game in her Storm debut.
Quick Storm notes
Seattle’s defense held Connecticut without a single three-pointer in the first half.
Seattle reached double figures in steals for the seventh time this season, tying for the second-most games of 10 or more steals in the WNBA this season.
Four Storm starters finished with at least five assists for the first time in franchise history.
Seattle scored at least 10 second-chance points for the third consecutive game, tying the team’s longest such streak of the season.
Seattle trailed by as many as 10 points in a 14-point win. This marks the 10th time this season that a team came back from a double-digit deficit to win by at least 10 points, and Seattle joins Minnesota as the only teams to complete such a comeback multiple times in 2025.
This marks Noelle Quinn’s 50th double-digit win as a head coach, which ranks third in Storm franchise history.
Gabby Williams led the Storm with 18 points on 60% (6-for-10) shooting from the field while dishing out five assists with two rebounds. Williams added three steals for her league-best 16th multi-steal game, which is the most by a Storm player in the first half of a season in franchise history. Williams passed Betty Lennox for 12th on the Storm’s all-time steals list with her 142nd takeaway and tied her season high with five free-throws made as she shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the line.
Ezi Magbegor matched her season high with 14 points on 60% (6-for-10) shooting from the field and reached double figures in scoring for the third consecutive game. Magbegor swatted two shots, including the 300th block of her career to become the third-youngest player in WNBA history to reach 300 blocks. Magbegor recorded multiple defensive rebounds for the 100th consecutive game, tying the longest such streak in franchise history and the 10th-longest in WNBA history. She also passed Natasha Howard and Sami Whitcomb on the Storm’s all-time steals list to move into eighth place with 158 steals.
Skylar Diggins finished with 14 points along with five assists and five rebounds, matching her season high for rebounds. Diggins, making her 300th career start, knocked down her first three attempts from beyond the arc and extended her streak of games with at least one made three-pointer to a career-best 13 games. Diggins also reached 10,000 career minutes played and dished out at least three assists for the 61st consecutive game to pass Courtney Vandersloot for the sixth-longest such streak in WNBA history.
Nneka Ogwumike posted 16 points for her 365th career double-digit scoring game to pass Sue Bird for the seventh-most double-digit scoring performances in WNBA history. Ogwumike made 40% (2-for-5) of her attempts from deep, and she added five assists and four rebounds.
Erica Wheeler scored six points with five assists and a season-high four steals. Wheeler has now recorded a steal in 13 consecutive games, tying the fifth-longest steals streak in Storm franchise history.
Dominique Malonga scored four points off the bench and grabbed eight rebounds to match her career high for rebounds in a game. Malonga’s four offensive rebounds also marked a career high.
Tiffany Mitchell made her Storm debut and led the Storm bench with five points on 50% (2-for-4) shooting from the field. Mitchell also grabbed three rebounds, including a season-high two offensive boards.
What’s next?
Following tonight’s home win over the Connecticut Sun to begin a four-game homestand, our Seattle Storm will have a day before their next game on Sunday, July 13th. That next game comes against the Washington Mystics, who sit at a perfectly even 10-10 record so far on the season, with a tipoff time of 3PM PDT that will be broadcast live on the CW Seattle in the local TV market. This game at Climate Pledge Arena will be the Storm’s “Native American Heritage Game” presented by the Snoqualmie Tribe, and doors at the arena open at 2PM PDT.
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