Coming off a riveting victory, the Seattle Storm will aim for a season-best four-game winning streak when they face the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
Nneka Ogwumike’s buzzer-beating jumper from right inside the free-throw line lifted the Storm (20-18) to an 84-82 victory against the Washington Mystics on Sunday.
“Based on what we had been seeing leading up into that point, (coach Noelle Quinn) was talking about getting (Skylar Diggins) downhill,” Ogwumike said. “That’s something that time and time again has worked for us. But Sky told me when we came out that she anticipated them switching if I slipped. So instead of actually setting the screen, she told me to slip, and that was kind of what we ended up doing, to be able to get not just a shot off, but the last shot off.”
Ogwumike finished with 30 points and six rebounds as the Storm rallied back after giving up a 14-point third-quarter lead. This is the fourth three-game winning streak for the Storm this season.
The Fever (19-18) are coming off a pair of losses in a home-and-away set against the Minnesota Lynx. In the last outing, the Fever fell 97-84 at the Lynx on Sunday, as Aerial Powers made her debut as a hardship waiver pickup in replacement of Sophie Cunningham (MCL). Powers had five points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.
With seven games left in the regular season, the Fever are now on the bubble for the playoffs as star guard Caitlin Clark (groin/ankle) has been out since being injured July 15. However, Clark took part in non-contact, low impact shootaround drills prior to Sunday’s game, so she appears to be on the right track in her recovery.
“It was a good step because she got out there on the floor with us for the first time, part of the sort of return to activity thing,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said, per the Indy Star.
Indiana has lost six of its last eight games.
The Fever defeated the Storm in the other two matchups this season in Seattle, 94-86 on June 24 and 78-74 on Aug. 3. Natasha Howard led the Fever with 21 points in the most recent contest between the teams.
–Field Level Media
