Top Storm Takeaways From Seattle’s Home Win Over Mystics - May 24th, 2026
By Jess Amato
Seattle, WA - On Sunday, May 24th, our Seattle Storm hosted the Washington Mystics for the two teams' first matchup of the 2026 WNBA season. The Mystics started off strong, but the Storm kept pace and took their first lead of the game in the final seconds of the first quarter. By the end of the second quarter, the Storm had a 12-point lead, compared to their two-point lead heading into the first.
The Storm exploded in the third, taking a strong 22-point lead over Washington. The Mystics tried to battle back, scoring over 30 points in the fourth, but the Storm kept their strong lead and won the game, 85-97.
Seattle Storm point guard Natisha Hiedeman during the team’s 97-85 win over the Washington Mystics on May 24th, 2026, at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Aaron Benson for Circling Seattle Sports)
Hiedeman Exploded On the Court
Natisha Hiedeman was a fantastic offseason pick-up for the Storm. She previously played for the Minnesota Lynx but signed with the Storm as a free agent during the offseason. She has seven years of veteran experience, between her time with the Lynx and the Connecticut Sun, where she began her WNBA career. After Seattle lost Gabby Williams, Nneka Ogwumike, and Skylar Diggins during free agency, they needed some veteran presence, and Hiedeman helps to fill that role alongside Stefanie Dolson in terms of outside acquisitions. Hiedeman was already performing well with the Storm, but in this game, she had a fantastic performance on the court.
Hiedeman scored a total of 24 points, tying her career-high points total. By halftime, she had 18 points, which is a great accomplishment, especially considering she appeared to have injured her shooting hand, but came back out onto the court.
In the first quarter, Hiedeman had a fantastic buzzer-beater basket to give the Storm their first lead of the game. She had another in the second, almost like deja vu, to keep the Storm’s strong lead heading into the half.
Hiedeman looked strong out on the court throughout the start of the season, but especially strong in this game. With her career-tying performance in this game, we’ll see if she can put up a new career-high points total with Seattle. Currently, Hiedeman ranks first on the team in total points (96), field goals made (35), and three-point field goals made (12).
Seattle Storm rookie center Awa Fam during the team’s 97-85 win over the Washington Mystics on May 24th, 2026, at Climate Pledge Arena. (Photos by Aaron Benson for Circling Seattle Sports)
Fam Had a Fantastic Debut
With their third overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, the Storm selected Awa Fam. She didn’t join the team for offseason training or for the start of the season, due to the fact that she was playing overseas in Spain with Valencia BC, and helped her team win the championship. In this game against the Mystics, Fam made her debut.
She played 20 minutes and recorded 10 points. She made seven field goal attempts and made four of them. She made her presence known on the court and played physically, driving the ball to take a shot when she could. It’s a somewhat remarkable feat to look this good, considering that Fam only had one “practice” and that was a live session with only a few players yesterday afternoon at the team’s facility.
With Dominique Malonga out due to a concussion, Fam was the tallest player on the court for the Storm. When Malonga is back playing with the team and playing on the court with Fam, the pair will be a lethal duo to play against.
Samuelson Gets Her First Minutes Since 2024
Fam wasn’t the only player making their season debut in this game. Katie Lou Samuelson recorded her first minutes since 2024. Samuelson tore her ACL last season during an offseason practice with the Storm and didn’t get to play in the 2025 season as she had to recover from the ACL surgery. She missed the first few games of the season due to a knee injury, but finally recorded her first WNBA game minutes since the 2024 season, having missed the last two years due to the birth of her daughter and then a season-ending knee injury.
Samuelson played 18 minutes and even recorded her first points with a fantastic three-point shot. Even though she hadn’t been on the court for two seasons, Samuelson looked great out there. Now that she is healthy again, she will be a great asset to the Storm this season.
Mystics Return for Game Two on Wednesday
Our Storm will remain at home and host the Mystics again on Wednesday, May 27. Will Seattle be able to keep the Mystics on their toes and go on a crazy point run in the second half of the game again? Let’s cross our fingers that this is the case.
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Cover photo provided by the Seattle Storm.
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