Rookie Flau’jae Johnson produced 24 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday to help the Seattle Storm earn a 105-90 victory over the visiting Atlanta Dream.
Rookie Awa Fam added 21 points on 5-for-6 3-point shooting while Natisha Hiedeman scored 20 for the Storm (5-15), who won their second straight game following a franchise-record 11-game losing streak. Dominique Malonga had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Jade Melbourne finished with 10 points for Seattle, which never trailed.
Rhyne Howard led Atlanta (12-7) with 27 points, and Angel Reese logged 17 points and nine boards. Allisha Gray had 15 points for the Dream, who dropped their third straight game.
The Storm built on their seven-point halftime lead, taking a 58-45 edge on Johnson’s 3-pointer at the 6:38 mark of the third quarter.
Sika Kone’s layup cut the Dream’s deficit to 10 before Johnson’s jumper sent the Storm into the final quarter with a 78-66 advantage.
Seattle’s Zia Cooke began the fourth with a four-point play to open up a 16-point lead. The Dream answered with an 8-0 run, cutting their deficit to 82-74 on Jordin Canada’s layup with 8:05 remaining.
Howard’s basket pulled the Dream within seven with 4:30 left. Johnson and Fam then each drained a 3-pointer to jumpstart a game-sealing 10-0 run.
Seattle jumped out to a 12-0 lead thanks to three consecutive 3-pointers from Fam. Atlanta finally scored at the 5:30 mark of the first quarter as Reese’s free throws cut the deficit to 10.
The Storm led 21-13 after 10 minutes, holding the Dream to 20% shooting (4-for-20) from the field.
After Malonga’s 3-pointer gave the Storm a 29-20 edge, Howard’s consecutive treys pulled the Dream within three.
Canada’s mid-range jumper trimmed Atlanta’s deficit to two with 3:10 left in the first half before Fam’s layup stamped an 8-0 Seattle spurt.
Gray’s 3-pointer cut the Storm’s halftime lead to 46-39. Fam led all scorers with 16 first-half points, while Howard’s 15 paced the Dream.
–Field Level Media
