Strong defensive effort helps Storm rebound to beat Sun, snap 2-game skid
Backpedaling and staring at hard-charging Sun forward DiJonai Carrington, Nneka Ogwumike jumped high for a block that negated Connecticut’s fast break attempt in the final two minutes.
It was biggest play for the Storm, which sealed perhaps their biggest defensive win of the season — a 71-64 victory at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Seattle (20-13) snapped a two-game skid and captured its first road win against Connecticut since 2021.
“It’s very difficult to come in this environment and win games,” coach Noelle Quinn said. “We’re not the only one who struggles with Connecticut. They’re sharp. They’re physical. They present a lot of matchup problems. They can beat you in a variety of ways. They’ve been a tough team for a lot of years.”
Skylar Diggins-Smith led the Storm with 18 points, four rebounds and two assists while Jewell Loyd finished with 17 points five rebounds and four assists.
Ogwumike added 14 points and six rebounds and Gabby Williams notched a season-high 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Due to their most complete defensive performance of the season, the Storm came out on top despite converting just 3 of 17 three-pointers.
The Storm fell behind 8-0 in the first two minutes and trailed 18-6 late in the first quarter before spending most of the second period clawing back into the game.
All of the problems that plagued Seattle during Sunday’s 93-86 loss against Connecticut were apparent once again.
Sun center Brionna Jones, who tallied a season-high 26 points two days earlier, was unstoppable inside while connecting on 5 of 6 shots for 12 points in the first half.
“Addressing the points in the paint,” Quinn said before the game while noting Connecticut’s 56-42 points in the paint disparity on Sunday. “We fouled way too much and gave up too many and-ones. Part of that is adjusting our ball screen coverage. There needs to be more intentionality and physicality with the actions that we’re defending and a little bit more want to.
“Jones is a difficult matchup. In order to negate some of her points, we have to be better at the point of attack. But it wasn’t just her. It was their guards getting downhill. So, we addressed our schemes with that. … We weren’t playing our best basketball in a very winnable game for us. So, not overacting, but just imploring us to be sharper on the defensive side.”
Down 29-20 with 4:50 left in the first half, Seattle went on a 12-2 run before the break. Loyd canned her second three-pointer that gave the Storm their first lead and put them up 34-31 at halftime.
The trio of Williams, Loyd and Diggins-Smith led Seattle’s offensive attack while outscoring Connecticut 21-17 in the third quarter to go up 55-48 at the start of the fourth.
DeWanna Bonner had a game-high 26 points and Jones 21 for Connecticut, which fell to 24-9.
Seattle finishes its three-game road trip Thursday against the New York Liberty.