Instant Takeaways: Storm Flush Sky, Snap Monstrous Skid
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Seattle Storm forward Dominique Malonga puts up a shot in the team’s 97-88 victory over the Chicago Sky on Monday, Aug. 10, at Climate Pledge Arena. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm [/caption]
The Seattle Storm played with a lead most of the game, defeated the Chicago Sky 97-88 and avoided what would have been a season-worst 12-game losing streak on Monday, Aug. 10, at Climate Pledge Arena.
Seattle (7-28), despite being short-handed without Flau’jae Johnson, snapped a long losing streak that began on July 9. Dominique Malonga led the Storm with 26 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks — another dominant night for the team’s young star.
Natisha Hiedeman (18 points, nine assists) and Zia Cooke (16 points) also were major contributors in the Storm victory.
Chicago (12-21) took another hit in its pursuit to get back in the playoff hunt. The Sky have lost three of its last four games and are seven games out from eighth place with 11 games remaining. DiJonai Carrington led the Sky with 26 points and five steals.
Here’s what we learned from the first Storm win in over a month.
Finally, a strong start
It was a good start for the Storm, who led by six after one period. Malonga pulled down six boards, while Jordan Horston and Jade Melbourne each scored five points.
Seattle held the Sky to just 4-of-16 shooting in the opening quarter, and Chicago’s 16 points were the fewest the Storm have allowed in an opening quarter since July 6 against the Los Angeles Sparks (15 points allowed).
That was huge, as the Storm have been bad on defense this season and have sparingly started well on that end of the floor. When trying to avoid their longest losing streak of the season, that was a big plus for Seattle.
Malonga picked up the scoring in the second quarter, totaling eight points in the period. The Storm once again outscored the Sky, and they took a 14-point lead into the second half. Malonga finished the first half with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Seattle’s bench contributed 15 first-half points, led by Cooke with seven.
Storm avoid collapse
Malonga continued her dominant night into the second half, scoring 11 points in the third quarter. Hiedeman emerged on offense and added seven points, and that duo scored all but eight of the Storm’s 27 third-quarter points.
For the first time in a long time, Seattle wasn’t perpetually playing from behind. They held a double-digit lead for much of the third, but the Sky battled back toward the end to cut their deficit back to single digits.
That was going to be the challenge: Can the Storm, already with a lead, avoid a second-half collapse?
The Storm led by four with three minutes remaining. Cooke threw away an easy pass to DiJonai Mitchell, leading to two points on the other end for Chicago. Storm head coach Sonia Raman waved Melbourne to sub back in, and Malonga scored on the next Storm possession.
Cooke hit a 3-pointer two possessions later to push it back to seven, and Raman left her in the game.
For the first time in over a month, the Storm made the sound late-game plays to win a game. Already with a lead, they made their free throws and played good defense against a streaky Sky team.
Carrington, who finished with a team-high 26 points and five steals, did all she could for Chicago. But the Storm finally clutched a game.
Johnson’s absence not a problem
Jordan Horston filled Johnson’s role in the starting lineup. Johnson suffered an ankle injury in the Storm’s loss to the Portland Fire on Saturday. Horston finished with 10 points, six rebounds and two steals in the victory.
Johnson, despite scoring 25 points in the Storm’s loss to the New York Liberty on Aug. 3, hasn’t been very efficient in her last six games. She has shot just 39.2% from the field in that span, and her statistical contributions across the board have been down.
The entire lineup stepped up in one of the best games the Storm have had this season. Like their seven-point loss to the Fire on Saturday, Seattle got 29 points from its bench — well above its season average of 22.7 from that group.
Cooke was the biggest factor from that group, but Taylor Thierry (seven points, six rebounds, three assists) and Stefanie Dolson (six points, three rebounds, two assists) also were major contributors.
What it means moving forward
The Storm should take the confidence they earned here and roll it into their next game against the Portland Fire. They can win games, but they have to stop playing from behind and hoping for a miracle. The early lead in this one went a long way for the victory.
Seattle isn’t going to win many games where Ezi Magbegor and Awa Fam combine for five points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block, but this was one of them. Raman still needs her depth to step up outside of the deep bench players.
If they can put it all together a few more times, the Storm may be able to get to 10 wins before the end of 2026.
Up next
Seattle hosts Portland (13-19) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14, at Climate Pledge Arena. The Storm are 0-3 against the Fire this season and have a very recent loss on their minds heading into the late-season bout.
