Less than two weeks ago, the Seattle Storm visited Phoenix in the throes of the WNBA’s longest losing streak of the year.
The Storm fell 93-73 on June 20 against the Mercury, marking their 10th straight defeat in what became an 11-game losing streak.
But look at Seattle now. The Storm visit Phoenix again Thursday night, riding two straight wins.
Seattle (5-15) upset the New York Liberty 99-88 on June 25, then handled the Atlanta Dream 105-90 on Saturday.
“There’s gonna be ups and downs, but I think we’ve had our downs and now we’re trying to grow,” said Seattle rookie Flau’jae Johnson. “As long as we keep coming out like this, we’re gonna be OK.”
During their victory over Atlanta, the Storm shot 60.3% overall and 60.9% (14 of 23) from 3-point range.
Johnson (24 points, 11 rebounds) and fellow rookie Awa Fam (21 points) led the Storm. Johnson made 9 of 12 shots with a pair of 3-pointers, and Fam shot 8-for-9, including 5 of 6 from beyond the arc.
Fellow starters Natisha Hiedeman (20 points, six assists), Dominique Malonga (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Jade Melbourne (10 points, five assists) also scored in double figures.
The Mercury also carry a two-game winning streak into Thursday, though theirs came on the road against the Indiana Fever (111-109) and Toronto Tempo (89-80).
The victory over Toronto on Saturday happened without Alyssa Thomas, who was suspended by the WNBA for one game after deeming Thomas’ hand to Caitlin Clark’s throat to be excessive during the win over the Fever.
“Our circle got smaller, but we have enough,” Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts said. “Everybody contributed and we got the win, which is most important.”
Kahleah Copper finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting against Toronto. Valeriane Ayayi had 20 points and six rebounds off the bench, while DeWanna Bonner added a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds).
Seattle is in search of its first victory over a Western Conference opponent. The Storm have lost their first 10 games within the conference, including two against Phoenix.
The Storm also carry an eight-game road losing streak into the matchup.
–Field Level Media
