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Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn did not hold back after Sunday’s 74-69 loss to the Washington Mystics, pointing squarely to the team’s ongoing struggles at the beginning of games as the root cause of another collapse.
Seattle dropped to 12-8 after squandering a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, continuing a pattern from recent games. On Thursday, the Storm blew an eight-point advantage in the final 10 minutes against the Connecticut Sun and were outscored 27-9 in the final frame. Sunday’s loss followed a similar path, with Seattle leading 57-47 before being outscored 27-12 the rest of the way. The Storm made just four of their final 16 shots and committed six turnovers that resulted in eight Washington points.
Quinn expressed frustration at Seattle’s inability to execute early.
“Our starts have been bad,” she said, as reported by Percy Allen of The Seattle Times. “It’s the pace, the lack of intentionality with our cuts. You expect that to happen within the course of the game, but not the first few possessions.”
Mystics overpower strong outing by some Storm players
The Storm shot just 16.7% in the first quarter, converting only three of 18 attempts. Despite strong outings from Ezi Magbegor (19 points) and Nneka Ogwumike (16), Seattle could not withstand the late surge from the Mystics, who were led by Brittney Sykes’ 19 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Rookie Sonia Citron added 17, and Kiki Iriafen posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“It’s our first quarter and it’s setting the tone for us during games, and it’s not a good tone … And in the fourth quarter, we’re turning a ball over way too much. I believe we had 11 and they had eight points off our turnovers in the fourth,” Quinn said. “We get up, and then again these lapses, they happen in moments that shouldn’t happen … But to me, it’s the first quarter and that sets the tone for the game.”
Seattle shot 36% from the field. Skylar Diggins had 10 points and moved into a tie for eighth all-time in WNBA assists. The Storm will return home to face Golden State on Wednesday. The Mystics are set to face the Los Angeles Sparks on the Sparks' home court Tuesday.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
