Playing without starting forward Camille Little, the bright spot of the Seattle Storm's 69-62 loss to the Minnesota Lynx today is that they managed to show glimmers of the resilience that helped carry them to the 2010 WNBA Title.
However, as in their first meeting with the Lynx they simply dug themselves too big a hole to escape despite a late rally that helped them cut their deficit from 21 points down to two possessions with 1:33 left.
The Lynx used a 24-2 run spanning the second and third quarters to mount that big lead, during which the Storm didn't hit a shot in the first six minutes of the third quarter. In an eerily familiar sight, the Storm settled for jumpers and were stopped inside before Tanisha Wright broke the ice.
Wright, who finished with a team-high 18 points, broke the ice with a 3-pointer with 3:37 left in the third quarter, but more importantly started to loosen up the Lynx defense with aggressive drives to the basket, resulting in layups and free throws. What began as a personal 7-0 run, turned into a 12-0 run to help the Storm close the third quarter down 14 points.
The Storm's improved play continued in the fourth quarter, in which the Storm shot 8-for-14 (61.5 percent) and were aided by four steals on five Lynx turnovers. However, the Storm's own turnovers hurt them prior to the fourth - their 12 turnovers to the Lynx's six through three quarters was undoubtedly the difference as the struggled to find any rhythm against a Lynx team that also rebounded well to prevent second chance scoring opportunities. And the Lynx's rebounding came from all over the court.
While Maya Moore led the Lynx with nine rebounds, shooting guard Seimone Augustus had five rebounds to go with her team-high 19 points and point guard Lindsay Whalen had four to go with her 13 points.
With the loss, the Storm fall another game behind the Lynx in the standings and match their loss total from last season.