Storm Surrender 10-Point Lead To Mystics In Home Loss
By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - On multiple occasions when speaking to reporters as of late, Seattle Storm players and head coach Noelle Quinn have declared that the team is consistently inconsistent and that “paralysis by analysis” has turned favorable scenarios into dysfunction.
That was the case once again as Seattle wasted a ten-point lead in a home loss to the Washington Mystics by a final score of 74-69.
Nneka Ogwumike had 16 points and six rebounds. Newcomer Tiffany Mitchell added 12 points off the bench and was a major spark for a team that desperately needed it. Skylar Diggns chipped in ten points.
In back-to-back starts against the Sun on Friday and the Washington Mystics on Sunday, the Storm failed to notch more than ten points in the first quarter, shooting a combined 7 for 35 in that stretch. When speaking to Storm sideline reporter Shantelle Chand, head coach Noelle Quinn said that she told her team to “wake up and come to work” after the first quarter.
It worked as the tide turned in the second, topping their first frame total with 12 points in the first four-and-a-half minutes. Storm star Ezi Magbegor was the early source of offense, scoring seven straight points. She finished with a season-high 19 points. The 6’4” center has at least two steals and two blocks in three of her last five games.
“She’s getting up and down the floor, moving better and playing with confidence. She’s back to pushing the ball up the floor, getting into her ‘Ezi specials’ and keeps active defensively. To me, it’s her activity level, her confidence, and the pace at which she’s playing that’s getting her back to the things that we know she can do well.”
Nneka Ogwumike had 16 points and six rebounds. Newcomer Tiffany Mitchell added 12 points off the bench and was a major spark for a team that desperately needed it.
Seattle went into the half down 31-28. They averaged 37 points in first-half starts in their last five games entering Sunday, which was the second-worst total in the WNBA in that span.
Early in the fourth, Magbegor scored on a layup to increase the lead to 10 at 57-47 before the Mystics ended the game on a 27-12 run.
Quick Storm notes
Seattle’s defense held Washington without a made field goal for over seven minutes in the third quarter, which marked the Storm’s longest stretch of game time without allowing a made field goal since June 11 of 2023, which also came against the Mystics.
The Storm finished with 11 second-chance points for the team’s fourth consecutive game with at least 10 second-chance points, which is Seattle’s longest such streak of the season.
Washington’s three made three-pointers matched the fewest by a Storm opponent in a game this season.
Ezi Magbegor led the Storm with a season-high 19 points on 53.8% (7-for-13) shooting from the field and 100% (4-for-4) from the line for her fourth consecutive game scoring in double figures.
Magbegor scored or assisted on Seattle’s first 10 points of the second quarter and finished with nine points in the frame for her highest-scoring quarter of the season. Magbegor added a team-high seven rebounds and grabbed multiple defensive boards for the 101st consecutive game, passing Breanna Stewart for the longest such streak in franchise history and the 10th longest in WNBA history.
She added a pair of blocks and two steals for her 28th game with multiple blocks and multiple steals, which ranks third in franchise history. This marked Magbegor’s 90th game with at least two blocks, tying for the 10th most multi-block games with a single franchise in WNBA history.
Nneka Ogwumike finished with 16 points on 40% (2-for-5) shooting from deep and 100% (4-for-4) from the free throw line. This marked Ogwumike’s 258th career game with at least 15 points, which ranks fourth in WNBA history.
Ogwumike added a block and six rebounds for her 100th consecutive regular-season game with at least three boards, the 10th longest streak of games with three or more rebounds in WNBA history.
Skylar Diggins scored 10 points with four assists, including the 1,635th of her career to pass Candace Parker for ninth on the WNBA’s all-time assists list.
Diggins finished the game with 1,638 career assists to match Natasha Cloud for eighth in WNBA history, and she has recorded at least three assists in 62 consecutive games, which is the sixth-longest such streak in WNBA history.
Tiffany Mitchell scored a season-high 12 points on 71.4% (5-for-7) shooting from the field and knocked down multiple three-pointers for the first time since 2023 as she shot 100% (2-for-2) from deep.
Mitchell added two steals off the bench for her first multi-steal game of the season and dished out her first assist in a Storm uniform. She also grabbed a rebound for the 500th defensive rebound of her career.
Gabby Williams scored six points with five rebounds and four assists, including her 290th assist with the Storm as she passed Swin Cash for 13th on the franchise’s all-time assists list.
Erica Wheeler finished with six points on 40% (2-for-5) shooting from beyond the arc. Wheeler added a pair of assists and three rebounds, including the 800th rebound of her career.
What’s next?
Following this home defeat to the Washington Mystics in frustrating fashion, our Seattle Storm will have a few days before their next game on this four contest homestand. That third game of the homestand comes on Wednesday, July 16th with a tipoff time of 12PM PDT at Climate Pledge Arena as the Storm welcome the Golden State Valkyries to the Pacific Northwest for the third meeting of the two teams this year. Seattle has lost the previous two meetings, both taking place in Golden State, so the Storm are seeking revenge against the Valkyries in addition to a bounce back from this loss to the Mystics. This game will be broadcast live on CW Seattle in the local television market, as it’s Seattle’s “Kid’s day” game presented by Delta Dental of WA and supported by FUNKO. This year, Kid’s Day falls on Doppler’s Birthday! Come celebrate the occasion with the entire family and get an exclusive giveaway item, along with new merchandise and a show by DJ Lightning.
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