Storm Hit 10th Straight Loss After Falling to Mercury
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Seattle Storm forward Dominique Malonga (14) walks down the court during a 93-73 loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, June 20, at Climate Pledge Arena. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm [/caption]
The Seattle Storm couldn’t maintain their hot shooting for two straight games and they lost their 10th in a row following a 93-73 loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, June 20, at the Mortgage Matchup Center.
Seattle (3-14) remains in 14th place, and Phoenix (5-12) is still just two spots ahead. The Storm are in last place in the Western Conference in Commissioner’s Cup rankings at 0-7. The Connecticut Sun (Eastern Conference) are the only other team to be winless in the Cup.
Natisha Hiedeman led the Storm with 20 points and four assists. Flau’jae Johnson totaled 13 points, while Dominique Malonga and Zia Cooke each totaled 10 points.
Phoenix was led by an extremely balanced attack, which included six players scoring in double figures. Valeriane Ayayi had a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds and Kahleah Copper added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Here’s what we learned from another disappointing Storm defeat.
Most concerning trend
For the seventh time in their last eight games (eighth time in 10-game losing skid), the Storm have surrendered more free-throw attempts to their opponents than they have attempted.
Seattle is struggling to play without fouling, and it’s reached a point where it can’t be blamed on a few bad officiating nights. It’s a major Storm issue that they haven’t yet conquered, and they’re not trending in the right direction.
Jade Melbourne, Cooke, Johnson and Hiedeman all had four fouls.
They kept the turnovers down (11) and even had fewer than the Mercury (16). But even with that in their favor, the defense and ability to play without fouling haven’t been there. That has to change eventually.
Malonga cools off
Coming off a career-best night against the Portland Fire that included 28 points (12 of 19 FG), 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks, Malonga was significantly less effective against the Mercury.
Malonga made just 4 of 16 shots and turned in 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Even though Hiedeman played well, Seattle needs both her and Malonga to be producing like No. 1 scoring options regularly for them to be competitive.
Importance of the 3-pointer
The Storm are 0-14 this season when shooting under 38% from 3-point range. They shot 45% or higher from that area in two of their three wins this season — displaying how important it is to this team’s complexion that they are efficient from there.
Overall, the Storm are 10th in the league in 3-point average this season (33.1%) but dead last in points scored per game (76.9). Those two areas need to find an equilibrium to have a more consistent offensive output.
Up Next
Seattle will host the Dallas Wings (10-6) at 7 p.m. PST on Monday, June 22, at Climate Pledge Arena. Dallas beat the Storm 79-56 on June 1 in the first meeting of the season.
