It isn’t often that a game comes down to the wire twice, but that’s exactly what happened Friday night in Seattle. The teams square off again tonight.
The Western Conference-leading Seattle Storm came into Friday night’s game with the Dallas Wings riding a five-game winning streak. So it seemed like an easy task against the last-place Wings. But in testimony to the league’s balance, the Wings flew into the contest determined to carve about a win–and with good reason, too.
Despite having a losing record, Dallas is second in the WNBA in points per game (90.4) and first in rebounds (38.9).
Those stats showed as Dallas jumped out to an early first-quarter lead–with sharp shooting from guards Arike Ogunbuwale (24 points on the night) and Marina Mabrey (22 points)–before the Storm took control of a 6-point first-quarter lead. By halftime, the Wings had cut the lead in half and, then, took a 1-point lead by the end of the third. It was back-and-forth from that point on with regulation ending most unusually.
Satou Sabally’s three-point shot called on the floor was converted to a two-point goal following a video review. That switch ended regulation in a tie game. In OT, the Storm won the game in spectacular fashion as Jewell Loyd won the game by hitting a high-arching, catch-and-shoot shot from beyond the arc with 1-second left.
JEWELL LOYD CALLS GAME! 😤 @jewellloyd#CountIt pic.twitter.com/lSt96PBOTQ
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 5, 2021
Loyd’s 25 points led the Storm (8-11 from the field, 5-5 from the line). Breanna Stewart (23 pts. 9 rebounds) and Stephanie Talbot (21 points) also contributed mightily, as did Sue Bird with 10 assists.
And these two teams get to do it all over again. They square off again in Seattle at the Angel of the Woods Arena. Tip time is set for 7 p. Eastern.
