Breanna Stewart had 25 points and nine rebounds, Gabby Williams added 21 points and seven assists and the Seattle Storm set a WNBA record with 37 assists in a 111-100 victory over the Chicago Sky on Tuesday night at Wintrust Arena.
Seattle also set a franchise record for scoring in a half with 66 first-half points, but the Storm led by only 11 after the Sky closed on a 13-4 run. The 121 combined first-half points were the most in a first half this season in the WNBA.
Advertisement
Despite the loss, the Sky (25-9) remain in the driver’s seat to earn the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, sitting 1½ games ahead of the second-place Las Vegas Aces, who played later Tuesday. Seattle (21-13) moved a game in front of the Washington Mystics for the No. 4 seed, and the Storm hold the tiebreaker for home court in the first round.
Courtney Vandersloot led the Sky with 28 points, going 10 of 15 from the field and 7 of 10 at the line, and she added seven assists. Kahleah Copper scored 17 points, Candace Parker had 14 points and Azurá Stevens added 12.
Advertisement
Seattle led by as many as 22 in the second half and hit the century mark with 4:50 left in the fourth.
Former Niles West star Jewell Loyd added 18 points for the Storm. Tina Charles had 14 points, Ezi Magbegor added 13 and Sue Bird had 10 points and eight assists.
Seattle made nine of its first 11 field goals and shot 76.2% in the first quarter to build a 38-26 lead. The Storm reached the 50-point mark with 5:56 left before halftime on Stephanie Talbot’s 3-pointer for a 17-point lead. Seattle finished the half 28-for-42 (66.7%) with 24 assists.
Seattle was without coach Noelle Quinn after she tested positive for COVID-19 and was in the league’s health and safety protocols.
