Two nights after stumbling by a season-opening loss in Phoenix, the Seattle Storm confirmed precisely why their veteran-laden roster can’t be written off.
Behind a dominant 23-point, 18-rebound efficiency from Nneka Ogwumike and a late push led by Skylar Diggins and Gabby Williams, the Storm outlasted the Dallas Wings 79–71 on Monday evening at Faculty Park Heart.
The end result was greater than a win. It was a response.
“That is the WNBA. Everyone’s attempting to win,” Diggins mentioned. “It simply got here right down to who may make performs—and we landed the aircraft.”
Seattle, now 1–1, did greater than make performs. The Storm set a tone early with 9 3-pointers within the first half, then leaned on its expertise to place the sport away after Dallas closed the hole to 3 within the fourth quarter.
It was precisely the type of efficiency head coach Noelle Quinn anticipated from her management core, particularly after what she described as an “uncharacteristic” opening-night exhibiting.
“They didn’t like how we began the season—and so they didn’t watch for me to say one thing,” Quinn mentioned. “Nneka [Ogwumike], Skylar [Diggins], Alysha [Clark]—all of them held themselves accountable. When your leaders try this, the staff follows.”
A Efficiency Rooted in Management
Ogwumike, in her second season with the Seattle Storm, delivered certainly one of her most impactful video games in current reminiscence, dominating the glass and scoring in key moments. Diggins added 21 factors and 9 assists, together with two important baskets within the fourth quarter that helped Seattle reassert management.
Williams, in the meantime, performed a near-flawless two-way recreation—ending with 17 factors, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, three steals, and two blocks. She was additionally credited with 10 deflections and drew the first defensive task in opposition to Dallas star Arike Ogunbowale, who shot 2-of-14 on the evening.
“She performed the entire rattling recreation,” Diggins mentioned. “She’s our greatest perimeter defender. She will rebound, shoot, move—do all of it. We depend on her for that.”
Quinn referred to as Williams’ dedication “unbelievable,” particularly in gentle of her full-season availability and Olympic-level conditioning.
Wings Surge Behind Bueckers, Then Stall
The Wings made it attention-grabbing behind one other robust efficiency from rookie Paige Bueckers, who scored 19 factors and added eight assists, 5 rebounds, and two steals in 37 minutes. Dallas outscored Seattle 20–10 within the third quarter and lower the deficit to 66–63 early within the fourth.
However simply as shortly because the momentum shifted, the Storm slammed the door. Ogwumike hit back-to-back pictures within the paint, and Diggins adopted with a layup and a feed to Ezi Magbegor to cap an 8–0 run.
Bueckers continued to indicate polish past her years however acknowledged the rising pains postgame.
“We supply [our competitiveness] for quarters, after which now we have lapses,” Bueckers mentioned. “We’ve carried out an excellent job preventing again, however we’ve acquired to determine the way to decrease these psychological lapses and actually play a complete 40 minutes collectively.”
Ogunbowale was held to 2-of-14 capturing and only one made three in eight makes an attempt. Williams’ protection, mixed with Seattle’s means to combine coverages, made a transparent distinction.
“That was actually Gabby’s task,” Ogwumike mentioned. “All of us touched it slightly, however Gabby set the tone. Arike is a scorer—it’s a must to defend her as a staff.”
Seattle Storm’s Recalibrated Id
After an offseason that noticed Jewell Loyd exit, Seattle entered the season with questions on how shortly the brand new group would gel. Monday evening provided early indicators of what that id may be: organized, defensive-minded, and led by gamers with championship expectations.
“We need to play with tempo and tempo, however we will’t be in a rush,” Quinn mentioned. “There’s a distinction between being fast and speeding by reads.”
Quinn downplayed discuss of lineup adjustments after the season-opening loss, calling it “a one-game pattern dimension.” As a substitute, she targeted on belief and accountability inside her veteran core—a basis she believes will outline this staff’s ceiling.
“We needed to come back in and be intentional about how we constructed this staff,” she mentioned. “Tonight confirmed the work we’ve put in these previous three weeks.”
The Storm return to Seattle to face the unbeaten Phoenix Mercury on Friday in a rematch of the season opener.
