> ## 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 Crumble Against Nemesis Fever - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/storm-crumble-against-nemesis-fever/ - Published: 2025-08-27T01:53:32.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:18:37.000Z - Author: Connor Benintendi - Tags: Storm, Dominique Malonga, Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Ezi Magbegor, Gabby Williams \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1650"\] ![ Unable to rebound effectively and a loss for answers against Aliyah Boston, the Seattle Storm fell back to Earth in a 95-75 loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday. Credit: John Mac ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/noellequinn_storm_headcoach-format-original-5.jpg) Unable to rebound effectively and a loss for answers against Aliyah Boston, the Seattle Storm fell back to Earth in a 95-75 loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday. Credit: John Mac \[/caption\] Starting slow and only getting slower, the Seattle Storm sustained a difficult, blowout 95-75 loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. There weren’t many positives to take away for Seattle (20-19) in an underwhelming performance against an Indiana (20-18) team that was missing five key players, including Caitlin Clark. Whereas the Storm struggled to muster any offense, the Fever’s top trio combined for 70 points. Seattle fell back into eighth place in the league standings after previously winning three of its last four games. The Golden State Valkyries (19-18) hold the tiebreaker for seventh. Here’s what we learned from an ugly Tuesday loss for the Storm. ### **Sluggish first half puts Storm in deep hole** The Storm shot the ball at a higher percentage than the Fever in the first half, but Indiana put up 11 more shots. That resulted from a 19-13 rebound advantage in favor of Indiana and because of sloppy offense from the Storm, who turned the ball over nine times in just the first 20 minutes. Trailing by as much as 13 in the first half, the Storm sparingly had any momentum on either side of the court. The Fever protected the paint and allowed 3-point attempts with proper close-out, knowing it’s a weakness for the Storm. Nneka Ogwumike had two triples early on, finishing with 12 first-half points. But she was the only Seattle player in double figures. On the other side, Kelsey Mitchell continued her strong play. She knocked down 6 of 11 shots and led the Fever with 16 points at halftime. Aliyah Boston and Odyssey Sims also got into double figures early, bolstering the offensive output for a shorthanded Indiana squad. As has been the case all season, the Storm struggled against a down-on-their-luck team that simply wanted it more. That drove the Fever to make the hustle plays — including on the boards — that the Storm are terrible at. Multiple Indiana jerseys crashed the boards with every miss, whereas the defensive rebounds came easily for the Fever. Seattle isn’t a physical basketball team. They can frequently get outmuscled by the more aggressive teams that aren’t afraid to do the dirty work, and that’s been the case in all three of the matchups between these teams this season. ### **Storm’s Achilles’ heel sinks them, again** At this point in the season, we just have to accept the fact that the Storm will never even be a decent rebounding team in 2025\. It’s lost them many games this season and will continue to limit their ceiling for the rest of the regular and postseason. That was the case once again on Tuesday, as Indiana won the rebounding battle 42-21 by the end of the game. The third quarter was especially putrid, with the Fever’s lead growing as big as 21 as they outrebounded Seattle 15-3 in the period. Dominique Malonga, Ezi Magbegor and Ogwumike, the team’s top three rebounders, combined for just 10 boards. The entire starting lineup pulled down just nine rebounds. It’s been a consistent problem and one that will hurt them in September. Malonga is by far the Storm’s top glass cleaner, but she can’t do it all on her own. There has to be a team effort to crash the boards. ### **Lacking points from two of the Big 3** Ogwumike can’t keep doing it all on her own. Gabby Williams and Skylar Diggins just disappear offensively too frequently, and they combined for just eight points in the loss. Williams has now scored under 10 points in three of the last four games, while Diggins has done so twice in that span. Meanwhile, Ogwumike has scored at least 21 points in three of the last five games and had the buzzer-beating game-winner against the Mystics on Sunday. Williams and Diggins are All-Stars who have to show up more consistently if Seattle wants to be a legitimate title contender. They’re obviously getting tired late in the season, but it’s critical to the Storm’s success. ### **Aliyah Boston, Fever dominate Storm in 2025** The Storm quite literally have no answer for Boston. Seattle lacks a truly dominant post player, as Magbegor has her flashy blocks here and there, but is not a premier rim defender. Malonga, as good as she’s becoming, simply isn’t strong enough to effectively defend her on every possession. They both lack the imposing, physical presence that is needed to stop a player like Boston. Here are Boston’s three games against the Storm this season (all victories for the Fever). **June 24:** 16 pts, 12 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk **Aug. 3:** 31 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl **Tonight:** 27 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl Boston has been the most impressive and the most impactful in helping the Fever shut out the Storm 3-0 in the season series. But it’s almost always been an Indiana trio that picks apart the Storm. Kelsey Mitchell, Odyssey Sims and Boston combined for 70 points in the Storm’s loss on Tuesday. In the first matchup of the season, a 94-86 loss for the Storm, Boston, Mitchell and Lexie Hull combined for 72 points. Indiana is the only team Seattle has yet to beat this season, and they will be the only one. ### **Up Next** The Storm have just one more road game this season, and they will end it in the toughest place to win a game. Seattle visits the Minnesota Lynx (30-7) at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 28. Minnesota leads the season series 2-1 this season, most recently defeating the Storm 91-87 on Tuesday, Aug. 5.