Recap: Storm win overtime thriller over Wings

The Seattle Storm overcame the Dallas Wings in overtime to win, 100-97. Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 36 points, recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds, and finished with an impressive five blocks.

Trailing 81-76 with just under two and a half minutes to go in regulation, the Wings engineered a 9-0 scoring run to take their largest lead of the game with 19 seconds to go, 85-81. A 3-point shot by Jewell Loyd pulled the Storm back within one point. It was her third 3-point shot of the game. Loyd finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

After Kayla Thornton (14 points, 12 rebounds) split a pair of free throws, Jordan Canada (14 points, five assists) tied the game with four seconds to go. A long 3-point shot by Arike Ogunbowale, who led the Wings with 28 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, was off the mark as time expired.

The Storm and the Wings traded baskets to open the overtime period. Tied at 90 apiece, Marina Mabrey hit the most impressive shot of the game from 30 feet to give the Wings the lead back. Mabrey finished with a career-high 26 points, a career-high eight rebounds, and five assists. She was 6-of-14 on 3-point shots.

The Wings took their final lead of the game, 97-96, off an Isabelle Harrison basket with 50 seconds to go. Back-to-back fouls by Harrison put the Wings in the penalty and Harrison fouled out. The Storm retook the lead off of made free throws by Stewart.

The Wings committed their 17th turnover of the game on an offensive foul by Ogunbowale. A pair of made free throws by Canada extended the Storm’s lead 100-97 with 12 seconds left in overtime. The Wings got two, albeit, tough opportunities to tie the game.

The Storm won the turnover battle 11 to 17, scored 21 points off of turnovers, and won the battle in the paint 44-36. Additionally, Seattle shot 23-of-27 from the charity stripe while Dallas was just 13-of-16. However, the Wings were plus-nine from the long range: 10-of-31 to 7-of-25..

The Wings’ scoring run down the stretch was enabled by offensive rebounds and second chance scoring despite the Storm limiting the Wings throughout the majority of the game. The Wings won the offensive rebounding battle 13-11 but the Storm led second chance scoring 14-13.

The Storm may be 3-1 but they clearly are missing the defensive talents of Alysha Clark and Natasha Howard. Seattle is in a period of adjustment, which will be something to watch as the season unfolds.

The Wings (1-1) have looked quite good in their first two games, having scored over 90 points in each game. They have some questions of their own to answer on defense but look much improved overall.

Up Next

The Storm return home to face the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday, May 25 on the CBS Network at 10 p.m. ET. The Wings go on the road to face the New York Liberty on Monday, May 24 at 7 p.m. ET.