> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Instant Takeaways: Hiedeman’s Career Night Not Enough, Storm Fail Comeback Attempt - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/hiedemans-career-night-not-enough-storm-fail-comeback-attempt/ - Published: 2026-07-29T05:17:39.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:52:29.000Z - Author: Connor Benintendi - Tags: Game Day, Analysis, Storm, Dominique Malonga, Natisha Hiedeman, Flau'jae Johnson, Awa Fam, Sonia Raman \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2143"\] ![ Seattle Storm guard Natisha Hiedeman puts up a floater in the team’s 105-95 loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, July 28, at Climate Pledge Arena. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/eo1_3246-format-original.png) Seattle Storm guard Natisha Hiedeman puts up a floater in the team’s 105-95 loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, July 28, at Climate Pledge Arena. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm \[/caption\] Natisha Hiedeman’s second career night in a span of about two weeks still wasn’t enough to break the Seattle Storm’s losing streak in a 105-95 loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, July 28, at Climate Pledge Arena. Hiedeman scored a game-high 33 points and helped lead multiple Storm comeback attempts, but it still wasn’t enough without Dominique Malonga (injured) on the floor. Seattle (6-24) dropped its seventh straight game and ninth of its last 10. Indiana (18-10) was led by a combined 60 points from Caitlin Clark (32 points) and Kelsey Mitchell (28) in a game where they were short-handed in the second half. The Fever have now won four in a row and are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Here’s what we learned from another failed Storm comeback attempt on their home floor. ### **Slow start gives way in second quarter** Malonga’s absence was immediately apparent on the defensive end of the court. It’s her offense that was highly coming out of the draft, but the difference in the Storm’s ability to protect the rim in this game was proof of the type of defender Malonga has become for Seattle. Moreover, the Storm struggled to get a rebound, and that’s another area that Malonga has begun to dominate in her second season. It was a gaping hole in both those areas. Indiana scored 37 points in the first quarter and had already made 13 of 13 free throw attempts. The Storm trailed by 17 after one period. Fever star Aliyah Boston left the game with a lower body injury midway through the second quarter and didn’t return. She had already scored 11 points, which was tied for a team-high. That’s when the momentum first shifted toward the Storm. The Storm made a second-quarter push via takeaways and seven-straight points from Hiedeman. Seattle tightened up defensively overall in the second quarter — which is a credit to adjustments made by head coach Sonia Raman — and managed to get it down to an eight-point game. Indiana pushed its lead back to 13 by halftime thanks to Monique Billings stepping up in Boston’s absence. Hiedeman led all scorers at the break with 16 points, which was at least nine more than the next closest Storm player (Flau’jae Johnson, seven points). ### **Comeback attempt falls short, again** Johnson and Hiedeman scored 11 of the Storm’s first 13 points to begin the second half. Clark scored all nine of the Fever’s points in that same span. But the loss of Boston evened the playing field on the boards and on defense for the Storm — negating all the disadvantages they previously had. The Storm came within two points on a triple from Awa Fam midway through the third quarter. On their home court, the Storm once again had all the momentum. Until they didn’t. Even after it was a four-point game heading into the fourth quarter, Clark and Mitchell shifted the energy back towards the Fever. They pushed their advantage back to double digits, and Mitchell made it 13 points on a 3-pointer with just over three minutes remaining. Hiedeman was exceptional. She played, pound for pound, the best game of her career with 33 points (surpassing her career-high 31 just 16 days ago), six rebounds and four assists. Still, it became what the Storm have gotten used to in close games. They can never maintain their comeback surge until the end, allowing the more experienced, talented teams to retake the momentum and take it to a win. This game won’t count against the Storm’s clutch game record (games separated by five points or less with five minutes remaining), which currently sits at 1-12, but it feels like it should. They had the Fever on their heels and couldn’t maintain the pressure. Following up Hiedeman was Flau’jae Johnson with 16 points. Fam added 11 points and Zia Cooke totaled 10. ### **The Malonga injury** The Storm star missed her ninth game of the season with what Raman deemed a back injury. She was day-to-day, per Raman, and listed as questionable heading into this game against the Fever. Seattle potentially could’ve won this game if Malonga was on the floor and Boston wasn’t. Malonga being limited by injuries in just her second season is slightly concerning; however, it has been separate issues that have sidelined her. If it were a recurring injury, that would make it much scarier for her outlook moving forward. At this point, the Storm aren’t competing for a playoff spot. They’re in last place in the WNBA standings and can be cautious with their prized young star. ### **Clark flaming Storm in 2026** In three games against the Storm this season, Clark has amassed 99 points on 25 of 42 shooting (12 for 21 3FG), six rebounds, 17 assists, five steals and three blocks. Clark’s 45 points against Seattle on July 17 were her career high in one game, and she continued to be extremely effective in the two teams’ third meeting. Her talent doesn’t need explaining, but it is something Raman has to try and combat in future meetings if she hopes to beat the Fever in future seasons. ### **Up next** Seattle begins a four-game road trip at the Atlanta Dream (16-10) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, July 31\. The Storm have split the season series 1-1 with the Dream so far this season.