> ## 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: Storm Bench Clobbers Wings For 3rd Win in Last 4 games - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/instant-takeaways-storm-bench-clobbers-wings-for-3rd-win-in-last-4-games/ - Published: 2025-08-23T02:08:08.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:58:35.000Z - Author: Connor Benintendi - Tags: Storm, Dominique Malonga, Erica Wheeler, Tiffany Mitchell \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2048"\] ![ The Seattle Storm set a new franchise record with 62 bench points — led by rookie Dominique Malonga — in a dominant 95-60 win over the Dallas Wings on Friday. Credit John Mac ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/molanga-format-original-1.jpg) The Seattle Storm set a new franchise record with 62 bench points — led by rookie Dominique Malonga — in a dominant 95-60 win over the Dallas Wings on Friday. Credit John Mac \[/caption\] Setting a new franchise record for bench points in a game with 62, the Seattle Storm cruised to a 95-60 victory over the Dallas Wings on Friday, Aug. 22, at College Park Center. It was the first time in WNBA history that a team’s bench outpaced an opponent’s total in a game. The Storm held Paige Bueckers to zero points in the second half as the Wings threw in the towel early, limiting the Dallas star to just 22 minutes only two days after her record-setting 44-point performance against the Los Angeles Sparks. Seattle (19-18) won as handily as it should have in that situation against a banged-up Dallas squad that fell to 9-28 on the season. Here’s what we learned from the Storm’s Friday victory over the Wings. ### **Offensive and defensive showcase for Storm, nightmare for Wings** Seattle did about everything right in the first two quarters offensively. The Storm shot nearly 56 percent from the field while the Wings were sub-30 percent. The only shots Seattle couldn’t hit were its long-range attempts, which is standard at this point. Dallas, as expected, relied heavily on Bueckers (11 first-half points). Bueckers wasn’t given anything easy, however, as six of those points came on free throws. Maddy Siegrist helped supplement the Wings’ offense with 10 points. The Storm’s offense was much more fluid, turning in 16 assists in the first half. Everyone was sharing the basketball, led by rookie No. 2 overall Dominique Malonga with 13 points. Dallas had only Bueckers and Siegrist to rely on, totaling five assists. Seattle’s defensive pressure forced the ball out of Bueckers’ hands, and the rest of the Wings’ pieces struggled to consistently score. It also led to forced passes and bad possessions, with the Storm generating eight turnovers off that defensive pressure. Dallas never looked comfortable, frequently making one pass before tossing up a shot. Seattle led 48-34 at halftime, putting the Wings — which weren’t hitting their 3-pointers either — in a difficult hole early on. The Storm didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal in the second half. The Wings’ final two quarters were even worse than the first two, which was a credit to Quinn’s game plan. Following the third-quarter buzzer, Bueckers and Siegrist were a combined 8 for 19 for the Wings on offense. The rest of the team was 7 for 31. Seattle also began finding the bottom of the next from long range, finishing 8 for 21 from that area (38.1 percent). Quinn pulled all starters with a little over five minutes left in the game, leading by 30\. Bueckers and Siegrist had just two points in the second half, and Dallas scored just 26 as a team in the final two periods. ### **Malonga dominates both sides of the court** The rookie is growing up fast. Malonga, the youngest player in the league at 19 years old, has had very solid games already this season. But many of those impressive performances and plays have been mostly on offense, as she’s only recently become more than just a matchup player for Noelle Quinn’s Storm defensively. There have only been five 20-point games by sub-20-year-olds in WNBA history. Malonga now has three of them this season. Tying her season-high 30 minutes, Malonga totaled 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting, nine rebounds, two assists and three blocks — one rebound short of her fourth double-double of the season. Malonga now has at least 12 points in eight of her last 12 games. That’s a testament to Quinn finally allowing her to get extended minutes, and a credit to Malonga for her rapid growth on both ends of the floor. ### **Starters get much-needed rest, bench produces historic performance** In addition to Malonga, Seattle’s entire bench came through for the Storm in a much-needed rout. All 11 players scored at least four points, and the 62 total bench points — in addition to the franchise record — was the most by a WNBA team this season. On the flip side, the Wings became the first team in league history to be outscored solely by their opponent’s bench. Malonga, Wheeler (17 points with four threes) and Tiffany Mitchell (11 points) all logged 20 or more minutes. None of the starters (Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Brittney Sykes, Ezi Magbegor and Gabby Williams) had to play more than 22 minutes or score double-digit points. It was a pseudo-night off for them. Zia Cooke, who returned to the Storm earlier this week after being packaged in the trade to the Washington Mystics to acquire Sykes, played six minutes and finished with five points. ### **Wings are still extremely shorthanded** While it’s a legitimate win against one of the league’s best players, Dallas isn’t exactly full strength currently. The Wings are without rookie JJ Quinerly, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale, guard Tyasha Harris and center Li Yueru, who the Storm traded to Dallas earlier this season. That’s left Dallas plugging in new signings frequently, and explains why they must have such a reliance on Bueckers and Siegrist, who also missed extended time earlier this season. ### **Up Next** The Storm have now won three of their last four games after dropping six in a row from Aug. 1-13\. They are two games into a five-game road trip that concludes on Thursday, Aug. 28. Seattle travels to Washington (16-20) for a matinee on Sunday, Aug. 24\. The Storm have created a 1.5 game buffer between them and the Sparks with seven games left in the regular season.