The first game following a relatively short four-day WNBA All-Star break followed a familiar script and looked like so many outings in a miserable rinse-and-repeat season for the Storm.
Once again, they fell behind early and staged a furious second-half comeback that ultimately fell short in the final minutes and resulted in a 105-95 defeat against the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.
“We needed more defense,” coach Sonia Raman said. “I hope that scoring 95 is enough for us to win games. We needed to get stops.”
The Stom have allowed 105 points in three of their past four games and they were no match versus red-hot shooting Caitlin Clark, who turned her only trip to Seattle into another showcase.
In front of a sellout crowd of 18,343 at Climate Pledge Arena, the Fever star finished with 32 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including four three-pointers. She also handed out seven assists.
Clark’s backcourt mate Kelsey Mitchell was equally dangerous with 28 points and Indiana (18-10) swept the season series against Seattle (6-24), which has lost seven straight games.
The Storm countered the Fever’s All-Star duo with a career-high performance from Natisha Hiedeman, who had 33 points.
“She's a really good scorer,” Raman said. “She's got a great shooting touch. She knows how to free up her shooting hand, and she can score at all three levels. That's a tough cover. She's a really great three-point shooter, and that sets up the midrange game. That sets up the downhill. She's got the handles. Her teammates do a good job of finding her. Our bigs are doing a great job of screening for her, and we're trying to add some variety to our screening.”
Rookie guard Flau’jae Johnson added 16 points, Awa Fam had 11 and Zia Cooke chipped in 10, but without All-Star center Dominque Malonga, who sat out due to illness, the Storm were unable to keep pace with league scoring leader Indiana.
“We just made an emphasis that everybody has to step up,” said Hiedeman, who tallied six rebounds, four assists and connected on 11 of 20 shots, including six three-pointers. “Not just one person. We kind of just all have to step up in whatever way we can.”
The Fever (18-10), who are vying for a coveted top-four finish in the league that guarantees homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, entered Tuesday’s matchup averaging 95.5 points.
Indiana averaged 113.7 points in its previous three games, including a 110-107 win against the Storm on July 17 when Clark made history while scoring a career-high and franchise record 45 points and tallying 10 assists.
Clark also led Indiana with 21 points and 10 assists in an 89-78 win against the Storm on May 17.
“She's a special player as is Kelsey Mitchell,” Raman said. “You don't want to let them have any easy ones early. So, limiting the easier shots and forcing the tough shots.
“They're good players. They can make tough shots, but we want to make sure that's the dose. If they're going to get shots, they're going to be really tough. They're going to be the ones that we want to have them take.”
The Storm provided very little resistance in the first quarter while the Fever shot 55.6% on field goals and raced out to a 37-19 due in large part to three straight three-pointers from backup guard Sophie Cunningham, who finished with 11 points.
“We don't ever give up,” Hiedeman said. “That's the good thing about our team. We got grit. We got fight. Through the ups and downs, we continue to stick together. That's what happened. Can't do nothing about it. Can't take it back. Can't start the game over. So, just figuring out ways to fight back and get back in the game.”
With 4:56 left in the second quarter, WNBA All-Star Aliyah Boston fell awkwardly after being accidentally tripped by Johnson. After a few minutes on the court, the Fever center walked gingerly to the locker room and did not return after tallying 11 points in 10½ minutes.
The Storm, who fell behind by 20 points, trailed 58-45 at halftime.
Seattle carried the momentum into the third quarter and was down 65-63 after Fam casually drained a three-pointer midway in the period.
The Storm never got any closer, but they made things interesting in the fourth quarter while pulling within 79-74 early in the period.
It’s uncertain if Malonga will return during the Storm’s upcoming four-game road trip that begins Friday against the Atlanta Dream (16-10).
“She's day to day at this point,” Raman said. “So, hopefully she'll be back really soon.”
The Storm are 2-13 on the road, including 1-7 against teams with a winning record.
“We just got to have that road warrior mentality that Coach talks about,” Hiedeman said. “Just continue to watch film, continue to grow and continue to try to get better, but playing on the road is not easy.
“So, just go in there with the mentality that we got to go steal some games. … But really just have a good attitude about it, good energy, and stay positive. You can't be over here like ‘Oh, poor me.’ We just got to have a next game, next play mentality.”
Raman reflects on shooting
Before Tuesday’s game, Raman reflected on the shooting at Sunday’s food festival that killed three people and injured at least four more at Seattle Center.
“Our hearts are with everyone impacted with the tragedy in Seattle on Sunday night,” the Storm coach said. “Seattle Center is a place where our community comes together, which makes that even more especially heartbreaking.
“Just keeping the victims and their families and everyone impacted in our thoughts, and just wanted to reiterate, from the organization, we're behind this community in Seattle.”
Note
— Before Monday’s game, a crowd of 30-40 people gathered outside Climate Pledge Arena during a rally to support Fever guard Sophia Cunningham and statewide Initiatives 638 and 011 that would bar transgender students from participating in girls’ athletics at Washington’s K-12 schools and reverse bipartisan changes enacted by the Legislature last year to the 2024 “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” expanding parental notification and involvement requirements in K-12 education.
“We always want to be an area where people feel welcome coming into this building,” Raman said. “I think we've always done a really good job with that. So, I know our organization was working closely with Climate Pledge and with security to just make sure that everybody feels safe and included and welcome when they walk in this door. And from what I understand, that was successful.”
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