Instant Takeaways: Storm Fall to Liberty, Spoil Another Elite Malonga Performance
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Seattle Storm forward Dominique Malonga looks up after a timeout during their 92-86 loss to the New York Liberty on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at the Barclays Center. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm [/caption]
The New York Liberty spoiled Dominique Malonga’s second-career 30-point game in a 92-86 loss for the Seattle Storm on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at the Barclays Center.
Malonga scored 31 points and added 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block to lead Seattle (6-27), which dropped its 10th straight game. No other player scored more than 13 for the Storm.
New York (19-13), which was led by 28 points and eight rebounds from Breanna Stewart, has won six of its last seven games. Jonquel Jones also posted a monster game with 14 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.
Even with a lineup shift that put Ezi Magbegor back in the starting lineup, momentum hasn’t shifted for the Storm in the last two games. Their last victory came nearly a month ago on July 6.
Here’s what we learned from another Storm loss in what’s become a long sequence of defeats.
Slow start? No surprise
Rebecca Allen started the game hot for the Liberty, dropping in 10 first-quarter points to help New York take a sizeable early lead. The Storm struggled to shoot the ball in the early going, and they trailed by as much as 15 in the opening period.
New York took an 11-point advantage into the second quarter after shooting 53% from the field.
Magbegor helped spark the Storm early in the second quarter, cutting the Liberty’s lead to eight on her only triple of the game. It was a significant step forward from the previously much larger deficit, and Malonga drilled a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to bring the Storm within four points at the break.
Malonga led the Storm in the second quarter. She didn’t pick up a single first-half foul and concluded the second quarter with a game-high 15 points. That was a huge plus for Seattle and head coach Sonia Raman, who often has to limit Malonga’s minutes due to early foul trouble.
Mabegor had seven first-half points in 11 minutes as Raman also tries to balance her return to the starting lineup with the need to get rookie Awa Fam on the court.
Brief Storm surge hits New York
Three minutes into the third quarter, the Storm cut New York’s lead all the way down to two. They had outscored the Liberty 42-29 since the conclusion of the first quarter, looking like an entirely different team on both ends of the floor.
Malonga remained the aggressor, scoring six points in less than five minutes to begin the second half. But then the Storm’s offense ground to a halt once again.
Following a tie at 50-50, New York used a 15-5 run to get back to a double-digit advantage.
Flau’jae Johnson and Natisha Hiedeman struggled mightily offensively, limiting the Storm’s options on that end of the floor when Malonga wasn’t being ultra-aggressive. Johnson and Hiedeman combined to score four points and shot 2-of-14 from the floor in the first three quarters.
Stewart led the Liberty with nine third-quarter points, concluding the period with 22 — one short of Malonga’s game-high 23.
New York kept the Storm at arm’s length in the final period. Malonga did her best to fuel the Storm nearly single-handedly, but they stared down an eight-point deficit with just over 30 seconds remaining. They couldn’t generate a final push.
Jade Melbourne and Fam each added 13 points for the Storm, and Johnson finished with 11. Hiedeman was uncharacteristically quiet with just two points.
Sabrina Ionescu (15 points), Allen (12) and Pauline Astier (11) also scored in double figures for the Liberty.
Will the Storm win again in 2026?
The Storm are getting repetitive. They either fall behind early, find some momentum and fall short, or they start strong and then crumble late. The most consistent aspect of the season has been Seattle’s inability to carry a surge to the final buzzer.
With 11 games remaining in the season, most of which are against good teams, we have to begin wondering if another win is coming at all in 2026.
Seattle has won three games since May 27. That’s one win every 23.6 days. Even worse, those three wins came in a cluster of five games — a once-inspiring point of the season that suggested tides were turning for the Storm. They have since fallen back into a deep rut.
The Storm still have games against the Fire, Sky, Wings, Tempo, Sparks, Aces and Valkyries. They are a combined 1-11 against those teams this season (defeated Sparks 82-64 on July 6, also their last win).
Raman needs to make up her mind on Magbegor, Fam
Magbegor has started the last two games for the Storm since returning from her second extended absence of the season. She didn’t start any of the four games she played in before her facial fracture. Fam has been out of the starting lineup.
Here’s a look at each player’s numbers in the last two games:
Ezi Magbegor (38 minutes): 11 points (5-13 FG), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Awa Fam (43 minutes): 17 points (6-19 FG), 14 rebounds, 4 assists
They both have different skill sets, and it feels like Raman could decide on who starts based on their matchup. But she should rely on one instead of having a nearly down-the-middle split in terms of minutes — especially if it’s the bench player who ultimately gets more.
With nothing left to lose this season, Raman may be trying to give Magbegor a chance with the starters to see if it makes sense to keep her around beyond this season.
Up next
Seattle concludes its four-game road trip when they visit the Fire (11-19) at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8. The Storm narrowly lost the last matchup against Portland, 77-72, on July 4.
