The Seattle Storm will look to rebound from a loss to the Indiana Fever by rebounding.
Seattle (9-6) was on the short end of a 38-21 margin on the glass on Tuesday, which allowed Indiana to claim a 94-86 win. The Storm also shot 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range.
When the Storm have topped their season average of 37 percent from three (best in the WNBA), they are 7-0. When they have not, they are 2-6. But it was the rebounding that got Storm coach Noelle Quinn’s attention.
“We can’t allow 15 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points,” Quinn said. “When we can’t get stops, we can’t get out and run and get to executing.”
Skylar Diggins had 22 points and six assists in the loss and Erica Wheeler added 20 points. But no Storm player topped Nneka Ogwumike’s six rebounds and a 30-19 third quarter spelled doom.
For the season, the Storm are 12th in the WNBA in rebounding with 30.8 boards per game. That outpaces only Connecticut in that category. But Seattle is the league’s most accurate shooting team (46.8 percent) and boasts four double-figure scorers, led by Diggins (18.7 points per game) and Ogwumike (17.7 ppg).
Meanwhile, Connecticut (2-13) has lost seven in a row. In the two games since guard Marina Mabrey went down with a knee injury, the Sun have lost by 24 and 26 points, respectively.
On Thursday, the Sun failed to crack 60 points for the third time this season in an 85-59 loss to Las Vegas. Tina Charles scored 18 points, but Connecticut shot just 23-for-71 overall (32.4 percent) and 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) from 3-point range.
“We have to work on our resilience for sure,” said Sun coach Rachid Meziane. “We have to work on our confidence and work on scoring our shots.”
The Sun are last in the WNBA in scoring (70.9 points per game) and shooting percentage (39.1 percent). Aside from the veteran Charles (16.2 points per game) and the injured Mabrey (15.2 ppg), no Sun player provides 8.6 points per game.
This is the teams’ first meeting this season.
— Field Level Media
