Top Storm takeaways from Seattle’s road loss to the Minnesota Lynx, May 27th, 2025
By Jess Amato, edited by Charles Hamaker
Minneapolis, MN - On Tuesday, May 27th, our Seattle Storm travelled to Minnesota to take on the WNBA leading Lynx. After two great home wins, the Storm were looking to keep their three-game win streak alive that spanned back to their road victory over the Dallas Wings in the second game of the season. Unfortunately, the Lynx were also looking to keep their undefeated streak alive as they’d started the 2025 campaign with a 4-0 record coming off a loss in the Finals last year to the New York Liberty. Minnesota ended up taking the win by a final score of 82-77, snuffing out the Storm’s comeback attempt after a rough start to the game had put Seattle in a considerable hole. Seattle’s overall season record now sits at three wins and two losses.
Storm Had Too Many Early Turnovers
Early in the first period, the Storm had several turnovers that helped them fuel a strong Lynx run to begin the game in Minnesota. Seattle’s first three turnovers resulted in the first seven of nine points for the Lynx. Taking advantage of those turnovers for the Storm helped push them ahead, giving the Lynx a nice boost over Seattle in an effort that was looking like it’d mirror the results that Minnesota had over this team last season early into the year.
The turnovers did not stop there for Seattle. The Storm had a total of 14 turnovers in this game compared to the Lynx’s eleven on the night. While there was only a difference of three, the big issue was the amount of points scored on the turnovers. Minnesota scored a total of 23 points off turnovers, while the Storm scored just 13. Again, ten points may not seem like a lot. However, you have to factor in the fact that the Lynx won by a margin of five points. Perhaps if the Storm had been able to limit their turnovers, the end result could have been a lot different and they wouldn’t have needed to launch such a big comeback effort.
It was these turnovers that caused the game to go downhill quickly to begin things for the Storm, helping dig this big hole for Seattle early that made it seem as though they may be dealt a poor loss similar to the one to begin the season in Phoenix. Seattle’s biggest lead was in the beginning of the game with two points, a bucket that started the scoring in this contest. The Lynx at one point were up by 15 points over the Storm, looking dominant and it makes sense that Minnesota was able to press the issue considering these turnovers by Seattle as they are coming off a Finals appearance and are the favorite this year to win it all. Once again, it was these turnovers the Lynx scored off that gave Minnesota that intense lead. The Storm did their best to catch up and complete the comeback effort, but the Lynx had the upper hand and were able to fend off that fiery Seattle push.
Diggins Made More History
Storm point guard Skylar Diggins continues to make WNBA history early into her eleventh season playing in the league, and she did more of that with her performance in this game. Diggins recorded her 400th career steal, which is an incredible achievement on its own. Skylar also reached 1500 career assists recently, looking to build off last season as her distribution abilities helped her break the Storm franchise record for most assists in a single season. With these two achievements, Diggins became just the third player in WNBA history to achieve both 1500 career assists and 400 career steals in under 300 games.
The two players to previously achieve those marks are Ticha Penicheiro and Sue Bird; Diggins is in great company. Seeing as Bird also played for the Seattle Storm, one of the greatest players of all time and a current part owner of the franchise, it continues to prove that Seattle has a tradition and standard of greatness with the players they have on their roster each year.
Four Different Players with 10+ Points
While the Storm struggled throughout this game and had to put together a big comeback attempt, there is no denying that there was a team effort to try and make that comeback. As mentioned above, Seattle point guard Skylar Diggins made history, but she was also one of four players to record ten or more points in this game.
Gabby Williams put up the most points, scoring 20 on top of four rebounds and eight field goals in a big effort that comes in addition to her remarkable defensive ability that Seattle so heavily covets. Diggins was right behind her with 18 points. Nneka Ogwumike, currently leading the Storm in points and also making plenty of history early into this season just like Diggins, was next with 11 overall points for this game. It’s a step off from the sort of game you’d expect from Ogwumike, who is normally so efficient but struggled in this one early, but she was able to bounce back from the rough start to have a solid stat line while also spending most of her night guarding Napheesa Collier. Finally, backup point guard Erica Wheeler recorded ten points with four field goals made in this one to lead Seattle’s bench scoring.
Yes, it’s a tough loss for the Storm, especially considering that it snaps their three-game winning streak and they were very close to pulling this one out in come from behind fashion. However, they put up a valiant effort in that comeback and there’s plenty to take away in a positive light from this game. They played as a team in order to wipe away the large deficit and did whatever they could to try and pull out the win, getting important games from Williams, Wheeler, and a few others that aren’t your typical two that shoulder the load in Diggins and Ogwumike. Unfortunately, the Lynx did not approve of Seattle’s plan and Minnesota showed why they’re a favorite to win the title this year.
Gabby Williams’ star continues to shine
Storm forward and “French Army Knife” Gabby Williams has had any impressive start to the 2025 season for Seattle, on the defensive and offensive sides of the basketball. The Storm have relied heavily on Williams’ defensive versatility to help them guard some of the leagues best players early into the current campaign, but Gabby’s offensive game is seeing some growth that many of us were wondering about heading into the season. In tonight’s game against the Lynx on the road, Williams was Seattle’s leading scorer with 20 points on 5-11 shooting from the field that includes two made three pointers on five attempts. The scoring is impressive in it’s own right, leading a Seattle team that had some struggles offensively in this tough game against Minnesota, but seeing Gabby contribute in other ways that help the offense are notable as well.
As she was last season, Williams has been a helper for the Storm in their rebounding efforts as she chipped in with four boards in this game while also notching a season high six assists in this game to help distribute the ball as well. Gabby has been a critical contributor for Seattle early into this season, playing big minutes taking important defensive responsibilities, and adding a nice offense game to compliment the rest of her abilities. Williams’ continued rise will be huge for the Storm’s title hopes this year.
What's next?
Despite a loss, there were still things to celebrate in Seattle’s performance against the Lynx as mentioned in our takeaways here. Following tonight’s road defeat, our Seattle Storm will head back to Seattle and have a few days of recovery and practice before they begin a three-game homestand by hosting the Atlanta Dream on Friday, May 30th with a tipoff time of 7PM PDT at Climate Pledge Arena. That game will be broadcast live on ION, with tickets still available by clicking this link, as the Storm will look to get back on the winning track as an Atlanta side on a three-game winning streak comes into town seeking to ensure that stretch of strong play continues. If you’d like to be surrounded by fans of the Storm when you’re watching that game and won’t be joining us at Climate Pledge Arena, 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!
Tonight, the Dream dispatched of the Los Angeles Sparks down in California by a final score of 88-82, and they’ll head up the West Coast looking to build off that win and that current winning streak they have going for them after a 1-2 start to the season. Given the defensive versatility and length that this Seattle roster possesses, it seems like they could have an advantage over an Atlanta team that will want to shoot from three-point range often, with another factor playing into this game being whether or not Brittney Griner will play as she missed tonight’s win over the Sparks with a left knee injury.
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social
〰️
Instagram: @CirclingSeattleSports Twitter: @CirclingSports Threads: @CirclingSeattleSports Tiktok: @CirclingSeattleSports Facebook: Circling Seattle Sports BlueSky: @circlingseasports.bsky.social 〰️
Check out our previous Seattle Storm articles here.
Check out our previous articles written by Jess Amato here, and her portfolio here.
Cover photo provided by the Seattle Storm
Support the work of Circling Seattle Sports by checking out our merchandise!
