Storm bury Caitlin Clark, Fever with third-quarter surge

Field Level Media|published: Thu 30th May, 21:42 2024

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) talks to Seattle Storm guard Victoria Vivians (35) following being run into after making a three-pointer, Thursday, May 30, 2024, during the WNBA game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Seattle Storm used a massive third-quarter scoring surge to coast past Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever 103-88 on Thursday in Indianapolis.

Jewell Loyd, the WNBA's leading scorer last season, led the Storm with 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting as four starters and a reserve reached double figures.

Skylar Diggins-Smith also went 8 of 14 in adding 18 points and nine assists. Nneka Ogwumike dropped in 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting with six rebounds and six assists., and Ezi Magbegor chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds. Guard Jordan Horston tallied a dozen points off the bench.

Seattle's 103 points is a season-high and was the most points for the Storm since a 109-103 win over Dallas on June 17, 2023. The Storm shot 42-for-75 (56 percent) from the field, including 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from 3-point range.

The Storm shot 12-for-18 in the third quarter en route to outscoring the Fever 34-18 in the period to change a competitive game to a blowout. Indiana was within 47-41 at the half but trailed 81-59 after three quarters.

Loyd had seven points in the decisive third quarter, while Ogwumike added nine and Magbegor seven.

Clark, the No. 1 overall draft pick out of Iowa, continued a challenging rookie season with Indiana (1-8). She played the entire game and collected 20 points on 6-for-17 shooting. She added nine assists but also had seven turnovers to pad her league-high total.

Clark drew a second-quarter technical foul after draining a long three and exchanging comments with Storm guard Victoria Vivians, who also received a technical foul for her role.

NaLyssa Smith led the Fever in scoring with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting and added 10 boards. Kelsey Mitchell contributed 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting. Katie Samuelson added 4-for-6 from long range for a dozen points off the bench.

The two teams battled on May 22 in a more competitive contest, with Seattle winning 85-83.

Indiana closed within four points on Thursday on a pair of Aliyah Boston free throws near the end of the first half. However, the Storm went on a 12-2 run, completed with a three-point play from Magbegor, to start to pull away in the third quarter. The lead stretched as far as 27 points, 94-67, on a Magbegor three with 5:37 to play.

--Field Level Media

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