Storm emerge with split of two-game set at Connecticut

Skylar Diggins-Smith led a balanced attack with 18 points on Tuesday as the Seattle Storm beat the Connecticut Sun 71-64 in Uncasville, Conn.

Jewell Loyd added 17 points, Nneka Ogwumike netted 14 and Gabby Williams had 11 for Seattle (20-13), which halted a two-game skid that included a 93-86 loss at Connecticut on Sunday.

DeWanna Bonner scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Sun (24-9), who also got 21 points from Brionna Jones. Connecticut had won five of its previous six games.

The Storm took the lead for good when Loyd hit consecutive 3-pointers, the latter coming with 44.3 seconds left before halftime to put Seattle up 34-31 at the break.

Jones' three-point play tied it for Connecticut at 46 apiece with 3:26 left in the third quarter before the Storm regained control. Seattle entered the fourth quarter up 55-48 and went ahead 61-51 on Diggins-Smith's scoop layup over Jones with 7:54 remaining.

The Sun rallied behind Bonner, who scored five points before Jones' layup closed Connecticut within 63-60 with 3:27 to play.

Diggins-Smith's ensuing bucket at the 3:01 mark made it a five-point game and was the last field goal for either team until Bonner's 3-pointer pulled the Sun within 69-64 with 9.4 seconds left.

Williams, Loyd and Diggins-Smith combined to hit six free throws in the final minute to secure the win.

The Storm outshot Connecticut 46.8 percent to 41.4 percent.

Seattle closed the first half on a 14-2 run after trailing by 12 in the first quarter.

The Sun owned the game's first 6 1/2 minutes by attacking the paint with Jones, who went 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts in the opening stanza. Connecticut sprung ahead 8-0 and went up 18-6 when Alyssa Thomas found Bonner for a layup at the 3:23 mark.

Jones' two free throws put Connecticut up 29-20 midway through the second before the Storm clamped down and spread the floor to pull ahead. Ogwumike hit two short-range buckets and notched a steal to help set up Diggins-Smith's fastbreak layup that pulled Seattle within 31-28 with 1:45 left.

The Storm kept the Sun scoreless over the half's final two minutes and took a three-point lead into halftime on Loyd's back-to-back triples.

--Field Level Media