Lexie Brown scored 17 points off the bench and the Seattle Storm secured their first win of the season with an 89-82 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday in Uncasville, Conn.
A former first-round pick of the Sun in 2018, Brown shot 5 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc to lead Seattle (1-1). She scored 14 of her points after halftime as the Storm recovered from a five-point halftime deficit.
Flau’jae Johnson added 16 points and six rebounds while Jade Melbourne tallied 15 points and six assists for the Storm, who started their three-game road swing on a high note. Natisha Hiedeman chipped in 11 points.
Aneesha Morrow recorded 17 points and 16 rebounds off the bench to lead the Sun (0-2), who lost the home opener of their farewell season in Connecticut.
Brittany Griner and Diamond Miller finished with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Both players grabbed five rebounds. Kennedy Burke added 12 points and six rebounds.
Connecticut led 49-44 at halftime but Brown drilled four consecutive 3-pointers as Seattle rallied.
Brown tied the game at 54-54 with 4:57 left, then gave Seattle a 57-54 lead 20 seconds later. Her final 3-pointer extended the Storm lead to 63-54 with 3:20 to go.
Hailey Van Lith scored her team’s final seven points of the period as the Sun closed the gap to 63-61, but they never regained the lead.
The two teams were locked at 68-68 early in the final quarter before Melbourne drained a 3-pointer at the 7:55 mark.
Griner’s two free throws with 5:59 left got the Sun within 76-74 and Burke’s shot from long range cut the Seattle lead to 80-79 at the 3:38 mark.
The Storm made seven of its 10 attempts from the line in the final 3:12 to help seal the deal.
The Storm led 29-24 at the end of one quarter and stretched the lead to 31-24 on a shot by Grace VanSlooten with 9:06 left in the half.
Seattle led 38-30 with under seven minutes left before a 17-4 run by the Sun turned the tide. Burke highlighted it as she hit a shot from distance for a 43-42 lead with 2:33 left.
Griner then made back-to-back layups as Connecticut extended its lead to 47-42 with 1:26 remaining.
Johnson ended the run with a pair of free throws that cut the Sun’s lead to 47-44 with 44 seconds left.
Van Lith’s pullup jumper with three seconds to go gave Connecticut a five-point lead at the half.
–Field Level Media
