Instant Takeaways: Storm Post Least Points Since 2022 in Crushing Loss to Wings

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Seattle Storm guard Natisha Hiedeman (2) brings the ball up court past Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd (35) during the first half at College Park Center. Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images [/caption]

The Seattle Storm posted their second-worst offensive output since 2022 in a deflating 79-56 loss to the Dallas Wings in the first game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup on Monday, June 1, at College Park Center. 

Seattle (3-7) scored just 37 points in the first three quarters before making the defeat look a bit more respectable in garbage time. Dallas (6-3) pulled down 12 more offensive rebounds and took an astounding 20 more shots than the Storm.

If that wasn’t enough to doom the Storm, they lost the turnover battle 17-8. It felt like the rock bottom of the Storm’s now seven-game stretch without both Dominique Malonga (concussion) and Ezi Magbegor (foot).

Here’s what we learned from an abysmal Storm loss on Monday.

Clunky, disjointed first half

Offensively, the Storm started as poorly as they possibly could. They didn’t score a single point for 4.5 minutes to begin the game, missing each of their first eight shots. By the time Flau’jae Johnson made a layup for Seattle’s first points, it was a miracle they were only trailing 7-2.

Defense reigned supreme as the Wings also struggled to take the lid off the basket. Dallas led 16-10 after one period, but they shot just 30% from the field. The Storm made just 4 of 18 attempts (22%).

Wings forward Jessica Shepard was the only person on the court having a good night early, scoring eight of Dallas’ first 18 points on 4 of 5 shooting. Paige Bueckers ended up leading the Wings in scoring by halftime with 10 points, however.

Hiedeman had 11 points for the Storm in the first half as their only reliable source of offense.

Dallas pulled down nine first-half offensive rebounds. The Storm had just one. That’s how the Wings were able to take 15 more shots than Seattle and build up a lead.

It was as sloppy a first half as you’ll see. Both teams looked like it was the first time they’d played with their current teams, even though they’re a month into the season. There were only 12 combined turnovers, but they were bad ones — making passes directly to opponents multiple times. Instead of good defense, it was just bad offense.

The Storm scored just 25 first-half points and trailed by 11 at the halftime break.

Too big a hill to climb

The second half wasn’t any better. It took four minutes for the Storm to score any points, as they reached the point of having just 25 points in 24 minutes of basketball. Dallas, on the other hand, began ballooning their lead, which peaked at 24 in the third quarter.

Seattle’s only highlight of the third quarter was a pair of 3-pointers after missing their first 12 long-range attempts of the game. The Wings continued to clobber the Storm on the offensive glass, keeping their shooting volume far higher.

All the Storm could do was drive, kick, repeat and either shoot a three or mid-range. There was no fluidity to the offense whatsoever. 

A lot of that blame falls on Hiedeman, who hasn’t consistently found her teammates in easy scoring situations from the point guard spot. The Storm are currently dead last in the WNBA with 17.4 assists per game, and they had just 11 against the Wings. That’s why they’re struggling to score points.

The Storm trailed 57-37 after 30 minutes.

Johnson logged the first double-double of her career with 16 points and 10 rebounds, but she also had five turnovers — nearly a third of the Storm’s total giveaways (17). Hiedeman scored 11 points and added two rebounds and two assists.

The Wings were led by 18 points, three rebounds and an assist from Aziaha James. Bueckers added 10 points, but didn’t score in the second half.

Seattle managed to score 19 points in fourth-quarter garbage time, making the final score not look quite as bad as the game really was.

Sonia Raman ramping up Awa Fam

Fam ended up playing a team-high 31 minutes for the Storm off the bench. She totaled eight points (4 for 10 FG), seven rebounds, one assist and four steals. While the Storm were playing their worst basketball as a group, Fam turned in her most well-rounded performance as a WNBA player thus far.

The 19-year-old rookie’s previous season high was 24 points, and that was in the Storm’s last game against the Toronto Tempo. Raman appears committed to getting Fam more and more involved as the season progresses.

Storm desperately need Malonga, Magbegor back

Raman can’t coach her way around the lack of experience this Storm team has, and right now, they aren’t playing as a cohesive unit. It’s too early to judge this team without Malonga and Magbegor on the court, but it’s clear how badly they need them back in uniform.

This game proved that the Storm are unlikely to compete against the good teams in the WNBA without those two in the lineup, and five of their next six games are against teams with a .500 or better overall record.

Malonga’s seven missed games have been over 2.5 weeks, as she remains in concussion protocol. Magbegor was projected to be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks from April 20. That means news should come down the pipeline sometime in the next few weeks.

Up next

The Storm return home from their two-game road trip to host the Phoenix Mercury (2-7) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at Climate Pledge Arena. That brief homestand precedes two difficult road games against the Minnesota Lynx (6-2) and Las Vegas Aces (5-3).