Struggling Storm aim for bright spot with visit to Fever

The Seattle Storm are looking to stop their latest losing streak.

The last-place Storm (6-20) lost their third consecutive game on Wednesday afternoon to the Chicago Sky. Despite the 95-90 road loss, the team hopes that the lessons from that game carry over into their outing against the host Indiana Fever on Thursday night.

"I think the takeaway for us was much more about the first half (and) how we start," Storm coach Sonia Raman said. "You know, taking care of the ball so that we limit the points off turnovers mainly, and then just guarding better in the half court."

All-Star center Dominique Malonga will look to lead the way for the Storm. Malonga has collected at least nine rebounds in four consecutive games and averages 8.2 rebounds per game.

Rookie guard Flau'jae Johnson could also be a key player. Johnson ranks third among WNBA rookies in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game, and tied her season high with 11 made field goals on 17 shots Wednesday against the Sky.

The Fever (14-10) are looking to bounce back after an 88-75 loss to the Golden State Valkyries at home on Wednesday. The Fever matched their season low of 75 points against the Valkyries, and fatigue might have contributed since it was their first game back home after a four-game Western road trip. However, the team doesn't want to use that as an excuse for their defeat.

"We don't have time for that," Fever coach Stephanie White said. "This has got to be no excuses, standard over feelings. Everybody in this league goes through this. It's not something that we're going to be immune to, and everybody else isn't. I think our mentality to start the ball game needed to be better. And when you spend all of that energy trying to come back at multiple points in the game, it becomes a hard road at times. And we can't give into those excuses."

Led by the All Star trio of Kelsey Mitchell (22.6 ppg), Caitlin Clark (19.7 ppg, 7.7 assists per game) and Aliyah Boston (17.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg), Indiana will look to score early and often. The Fever lead the WNBA in scoring at 93.2 points per game and scored 89 points in the first matchup with the Storm on May 17 when they notched an 11-point home victory.

--Field Level Media