Jewell Loyd looks to follow up her highest-scoring output of the season when the Seattle Storm host the Dallas Wings on Saturday night in the first of a two-game set between the teams.
Loyd scored 34 points in Seattle’s 89-77 home victory over the Indiana Fever on Thursday. It was the second 30-point effort of the campaign for Loyd, who entered Friday tied for sixth in the WNBA in scoring at 19.3 points per game.
Loyd made six 3-pointers — five in the first half — while thriving against Indiana. Her other 30-point game this season — 32 on May 22 — also was against the Fever.
Loyd wasn’t in top form entering the game. She averaged just 12.5 points over the previous four games, including a dismal game against the Las Vegas Aces in which he missed all of her nine field-goal attempts and had just one point.
“We knew it was coming, and when it comes, it comes in a storm, in a barrage,” Storm coach Noelle Quinn said. “We know she can rattle off points.”
Lloyd led the WNBA in scoring last season at 24.7 points per game.
Seattle (11-6) is 2-0 at the start of a nine-game homestand. The Storm and Wings play again on Monday.
Dallas halted an 11-game losing streak on Thursday when it posted a 94-88 home victory over the Minnesota Lynx.
Arike Ogunbowale recorded 23 points, nine assists and five 3-pointers to lead the way. Veteran Odyssey Sims made her season debut and looked spry with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Sims, who turns 32 on July 13, was signed to a hardship contract due to forward Maddy Siegrist being lost to a broken finger.
“When the season started, I knew I wasn’t done playing in the league,” Sims said. “Obviously, I’m getting older, but I still have something left in my tank.”
The solid victory over Minnesota — which won the Commissioner’s Cup earlier in the week — marked Dallas’ first win since May 26 against the Los Angeles Sparks.
“I told them after the game, ‘Tough times don’t last but tough people do,'” Dallas coach Latricia Trammell said. “(Sims) is a veteran, she’s a baller. She can just go in and play the game. She gave us that energy, that spark, that pace that we’re looking for.”
Seattle recorded a 92-84 road win over the Wings earlier this season. Skylar Diggins-Smith led the Storm with 21 points. Ogunbowale had 24 for Dallas.
–Field Level Media
