Instant Takeaways: Storm Stumble Late, Fall to Tempo Via Self-Inflicted Wounds
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Seattle Storm forward Jordan Horston (23) controls the ball as Toronto Tempo guard Julie Allemand (22) tries to defend during the first quarter at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images [/caption]
The Toronto Tempo briefly held a new WNBA record for free throws made in a game without a miss, and the Seattle Storm crumbled in the second half of a 92-73 loss to their cross-border foes on Saturday, May 30, at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Shortly after taking a third-quarter lead, the Storm couldn’t get out of their own way with fouls, turnovers and missed shots. That opened the door for the Tempo to close out the period on a massive run, leaving the Storm in the dust.
Solid performances from Natisha Hiedeman (18 points, two rebounds and seven assists) and Jordan Horston (15 points, four rebounds and four steals) were far from enough for the Storm to win this game.
The Tempo had five players score in double figures, led by Marina Mabrey’s 18 points, three rebounds and four assists. Kiki Rice totaled 17 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Here’s what we learned from another sloppy Storm loss against the Tempo.
Early missteps set Storm back
It was another slow start for the Storm, who shot just 30% from the field in the opening period. Both teams played sloppily, with a combined eight turnovers in just the first 10 minutes.
The Tempo built an early double-digit lead via 3-point shooting and capitalizing on the Storm missing easy shots around the rim. Seattle didn’t even attempt a free throw until there were under two minutes remaining in the first half.
Toronto defended without fouling and kept the Storm, who rank fourth in free-throw attempts per game (24.9), away from the line. That made a huge difference on the scoreboard early, and it continued throughout the game.
The turnovers didn’t stop in the second quarter. Each team turned it over nine times in the first half, creating a fast pace that started and never stopped.
But Seattle closed the gap. The Storm shot 53% in the second period and outscored the Tempo 23-16. That shaved away most of Toronto’s lead, and the Storm trailed by just one at halftime.
A rough start for Horston saw her head to the locker room with eight points, three rebounds and four steals. Hiedeman totaled 10 points and four assists to lead Seattle.
Mabrey was unsurprisingly the offensive aggressor for the Tempo, and she poured in a game-high 12 points in the first half. Former Storm guard Brittney Sykes added eight points for Toronto.
Resurgence and disappointment
Stefanie Dolson hit a 3-pointer less than two minutes into the second half to give the Storm their first lead since it was just 2-0 at the beginning of the game.
Hiedeman started to take over. But just as the Storm began trading buckets with the Tempo, they started faltering again. Late in the third quarter, Seattle had three straight turnovers that allowed Toronto to string together buckets and build up another six-point lead.
The free throws remained the major difference. Seattle couldn’t stop sending Toronto to the free-throw line, and the difference was massive. The Tempo shot 31 of 33 from the stripe, while the Storm were just 7 of 8.
The Tempo’s lead ballooned back up to double figures. If anything, the Storm were beating themselves, and it kept falling apart from there.
Toronto smelled blood in the water once the Storm got sloppy again, and that was all they needed to close it out. The Storm didn’t have the tenacity or quick offense to get back into it. The Tempo’s lead peaked at 25 points as they went on to outscore the Storm 56-36 in the second half.
Seattle has had success this season when it can slow down and operate its offense methodically. This wasn’t one of those games, as the Storm tried to make too many risky passes in an effort to create fastbreak opportunities.
3-point desert
The Storm are now 0-6 this season when they don’t hit 38% or higher from behind the arc. They shot just 26% against the Tempo, while Toronto converted 34% of their 3-point attempts.
Seattle’s bench went 0 for 9 from deep, and those are the players Seattle has relied on to come in and provide a spark this season. Without that contribution, coupled with the turnovers, the Storm spiraled back into a deficit.
Fewer excuses for mistakes
With 18 turnovers in this game, the Storm were just one shy of their season-worst performance (19 against Toronto on May 13). Seattle has now had 14 or more turnovers in seven of their nine games this season, and it’s only had fewer than 10 once.
Last season, in 44 games, the Storm had just one game with 18 or more turnovers. They already have two such performances in just nine games in 2026.
Even more than the fouls, that’s this team’s biggest weakness right now. This young, inexperienced core of players too often tries to do too much instead of simply trusting the offensive system to generate points.
That’s how they go from being in a close game with 18 minutes left to being on the wrong side of a blowout just a few mistakes later.
A lack of reps together was a valid excuse early in the season, but this group has now been playing basketball together for more than a month. They have to clean it up.
Tempo’s lost record
The WNBA single-game record for made free throws by a team without a miss is 27. Toronto was 31 of 31 in this game until Teonni Key missed both attempts on a trip to the line with under a minute left.
The Tempo needed to finish the game without a miss. Instead, they were less than 60 seconds short of resetting an extremely unlikely record.
It wasn’t bad officiating, either. The Storm were fouling the Tempo consistently, and it’s a major reason they lost the game.
Up next
Seattle (3-6) stays on the road to kick off the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup against the Dallas Wings (5-3) at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 1, at College Park Center.
The Storm, currently on a two-game losing streak, are entering a more difficult portion of their early season schedule. Five of their next seven games are against teams that currently have winning records.
