> ## 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: Diggins’ Game-Winner Lifts Storm to Critical Win vs. Dream - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/instant-takeaways-diggins-game-winner-lifts-storm-to-critical-win-vs-dream/ - Published: 2025-07-04T03:04:04.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:59:03.000Z - Author: Connor Benintendi - Tags: Storm, Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike, Gabby Williams, Ezi Magbegor, Erica Wheeler \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1488"\] ![ Skylar Diggins laid in a game-winner with 3.4 seconds to play and the Seattle Storm hung on to defeat the Atlanta Dream 80-79 on Thursday. Credit: John Mac ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/skylar-2bdiggins-2bdrives-format-original-1.jpg) Skylar Diggins laid in a game-winner with 3.4 seconds to play and the Seattle Storm hung on to defeat the Atlanta Dream 80-79 on Thursday. Credit: John Mac \[/caption\] Skylar Diggins drove past multiple defenders and laid in the would-be game-winning shot with 3.4 seconds remaining and the Seattle Storm hung on to defeat the hosting Atlanta Dream 80-79 on Thursday, July 3, at the Gateway Center. Diggins totaled 11 points in the game — struggling for much of the contest — to go along with two rebounds, three assists and a steal. Seattle trailed by four with 42 seconds left but managed to score two clutch buckets to preserve a much-needed victory. Here’s what we learned from a narrow Storm victory over the Dream on Thursday. ### **No edge for either team, until the end** These teams came into the game neck-and-neck in the overall league standings, and that was apparent in what played out as a heavyweight bout. Seattle went into the locker room at halftime with a 39-37 lead, controlling a moderate advantage after there were 11 lead changes in the first two quarters. The Storm made 6 of 10 attempts from beyond the arc while limiting the Dream to just 2 for 7 from that area — typically a strength for Atlanta. The Storm had six players with at least five points in just the first half, while Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams led the team with nine. It was the opposite for Atlanta, which got 31 of its 37 first-half points from Jordin Canada, Brionna Jones and Allisha Gray. This trend continued in the second half. Both teams’ largest lead was just seven, and those gaps were quickly closed shortly after. There were 25 total lead changes and nine ties throughout as the Storm and Dream traded blows. Where Seattle struggled to rebound, it made up for it with 3-point bombs. Where Atlanta struggled with turnovers, it made up for it with second-chance points. Even though Atlanta slightly outscored the Storm in the final quarter, 23-21, Seattle made the necessary plays down the stretch to pull out a nailbiter. Erica Wheeler, who finished with 21 points, hit the second-most important bucket of the game to cut Atlanta’s lead to one with 32 seconds to play. Diggins just finished it off. The Dream’s Jordin Canada, who finished with a regular-season career-high 25 points, hoisted up a prayer at the buzzer, but it didn’t fall. ### **Rhyne Howard’s absence proves costly for the Dream** In the first matchup between these teams, Howard lit the Storm on fire with 33 points on 12-of-24 shooting. That helped fuel the Dream to a 94-87 victory on Seattle’s home court. Howard was out on Thursday due to an injury she sustained against the New York Liberty on June 29\. Canada made up for much of Howard’s would-be production, in conjunction with Brionna Jones (18 points), but Atlanta very clearly missed the scoring production. Howard is averaging 16.8 points per game this season and appeared to have Seattle’s number in the first outing. ### **Nneka Ogwumike passes Sue Bird on the all-time scoring list** Just one day after the Storm announced that Sue Bird would become the first WNBA player in league history to have a statue dedicated to her, Ogwumike passed the Seattle legend for eighth on the all-time scoring list. By the game’s end, Ogwumike had risen to seventh all-time, passing Cappie Pondexter. Ogwumike finished the game with 24 points, giving her 6,827 in her career. She is now 68 points away from moving past Candice Dupree in sixth (6,895 points), before she has a big gap to catch Tamika Catchings in fifth (7,380). Although Ogwumike has only been in Seattle for 1.5 seasons, she’s adding to an ever-building Storm legacy by moving past Bird and is already a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever she decides to retire. ### **Some trends change, others remain the same** The Storm came into the game 10-0 when reaching 21 or more assists, and 0-7 when falling short of that figure. They had just 17 in the win against the Dream, but that ended up being enough in a statistically anomalous game for Seattle this season. One thing didn’t change, however, and that was the Storm’s near-league-worst rebounding. Seattle was outrebounded 46-24 and outscored 42-28 in the paint. The Dream missed 37 shots in the game and pulled down 15 offensive rebounds. If Atlanta hadn’t allowed the Storm to rack up 21 points off turnovers, this could have been a much different result for Seattle. The effort of Ezi Magbegor on the boards is a problem. Magbegor, Seattle’s should-be top rebounder and tallest player outside of rookie Dominique Malonga, finished with just two rebounds in 31 minutes. She’s regularly in the area of a rebound and allows a much smaller player to beat her to the basketball. It almost seems like she’s dealing with an underlying injury that is limiting her hustle. Magbegor hasn’t had more than six rebounds in a game since June 22\. She hasn’t surpassed nine rebounds once this year after posting double-digit boards nine times in 2024\. Her offense has already taken a huge dip from last season (almost a five-point-per-game fall-off) and her rebound average is taking a hit as well. Seattle is second-to-last in rebounds per game (31), ahead of only the 2-15 Connecticut Sun. No other team with double-digit wins this season ranks below eighth in the league in that category. ### **Up next** Seattle, now 11-7 overall, remains on the road for game three of a four-game road trip when they face New York (12-5) at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 6\. The Liberty have dropped four of their last six games, including an 89-79 loss to the Storm on June 22\. However, New York was without star guard Sabrina Ionescu in that game. The Storm have won five of their last seven games, even with the struggles on the boards. New York is sixth in the league in rebounds per game (34.8), which will be another tough test.