GAME HIGHLIGHTS
• In a matchup between the top-two scoring teams in the WNBA, the Storm led from start to finish and
hit 12-for-27 from deep while holding Connecticut to just 8-for-26 from three-point range en route to
pulling off a 103-92 victory, its first win over the Sun since 2016.
• It was a career night for Natasha Howard, who finished with a career-best 25 points on 8-for-11
shooting, including a 7-for-7 effort from the free throw line. Thirteen of her 25 points tonight came in
the first half.
• With the win, Seattle sits tied with Phoenix (8-3) for second place in the WNBA standings.

KEY STATS OF THE GAME
• Seattle outscored Connecticut by 15 from the free throw line and by 12 from three-point range.

STORM HIGHLIGHTS
• Breanna Stewart eclipsed the 20-point mark for the eighth time this season, scoring 23 points on 7-for10
shooting. She also had a team-high nine rebounds and four assists.
• In 19 minutes off the bench, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis recorded 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting. This
marked her third game in double figures this season.
• Natasha Howard scored in double figures for the ninth time this season and fifth straight contest.
• Alysha Clark chipped in 11 points to go along with a season-high four assists.
• Sue Bird registered double-figure scoring for the fifth time this season with 14 points to go along with
five assists.
• Noelle Quinn dished out a season-high five assists off the bench.
• Rookie center Mercedes Russell came off the bench to score a career-high five points in seven
minutes.
• Seattle hit four three-pointers in the first quarter en route to taking a 30-21 lead into the second
frame. The Storm shot 10-for-17 from the field, led by seven points from Jewell Loyd, who went 2-for-2
from deep in the quarter.
• The Storm hit 10 or more three-pointers for the fourth time this season, finishing with 12 on 27 attempts.
• Seattle eclipsed the 100-point mark for the third time in 2018, tying last season’s mark and tying a
franchise-high for a single season.
• The Storm set a season-high for fast break points, finishing with 20.
• Tonight marked the second time Seattle scored 30 or more in the first quarter (38 vs. Las Vegas,
5/31/18).
• Crystal Langhorne missed her eighth game of the 2018 season, besting the seven games she missed
in her previous 10 WNBA seasons. Since 2008, she’s played in the second-most games (336) in the
WNBA (Camille Little, 346).
• Natasha Howard hit a career-best two three-pointers in tonight’s win. Her previous career-high was
one, achieved seven times.
• With the victory, the Storm tied for the second-best start in franchise story. Seattle started 9-2 during
the 2010 season and 8-3 during the 2004 campaign, both of which were championship seasons.
• Seattle was without backup point guard Jordin Canada (left ankle), her first game missed this season.
• The Storm improved to 12-20 all-time against Connecticut since the Sun relocated from Orlando.
• Seattle collected its first win at home against Connecticut since 6/24/16, when the Storm won 98-81
behind 29 points and nine rebounds from Breanna Stewart.

SUN HIGHLIGHTS

• Chiney Ogwumike set a new career-high with 30 points. Her previous career best was 26, set on July
20, 2016 at Dallas. She made 13 shots, also a career-high. Ogwumike is the 13th player in franchise
history to score 30 or more points.
• Jasmine Thomas tied her career-high with 29 points, set against Seattle on June 29, 2017.
• Betnijah Laney had a season-high nine points and four rebounds.
• Connecticut outscored Seattle in the paint, 46-24.

STORM COACH DAN HUGHES

(On the game as a whole)
“Really good basketball game. They’re hard to stop and they’re playing without Alyssa Thomas who’s
one of their best players but they score from all of the different areas you’ve got to defend. They put
pressure on you but I was just really glad with our resiliency. We got out of the gate good, followed
the game plan well even though you’re going to have a tussle when you’re playing a really good
team like Connecticut. I was just really pleased that we were able to get good play off the bench,
we’re down a couple players and the fact that our bench could do that and I thought Kaleena
[Mosqueda-Lewis] was really – I know everybody notices her offensively but her coach notices that
defensively she was really working and that’s been a key to keeping her in a situation evolving a little
bit. I also just that that Noelle Quinn stepping in and having to run our club was important. The bench
was really good. Sue was really thoughtful in this game I thought. I thought the way we spread the
floor and that the ball moved – she just did a lot of really good things because they’re a team that
we had to play to our strengths and get them to have to extend and guard us and we needed to
get to the foul line. That’s just statistically a reality in this matchup and we were able to do that.
(On Natasha Howard’s play tonight)
“She was really good and she’s playing against a front line that’s excellent. But the thinking was that
if we spread the floor well and now we’re going to have movement at the basket — once we scored
a little you knew that were going to extend — and she is so dangerous in movement. She has just got
a knack for getting to the right spots and situations and she was huge in that because it’s hard for
them to load up with her cutting, moving, finding space and she also had good face-up finishes as
well.”
(On closing out the game and going inside to Breanna Stewart late)
“I just thought the foul line was going to be an important factor for us. We needed to be aggressive
with them but in our kind of way. We needed to penetrate and pitch, we needed to throw it in and
throw it back out because their length inside is real. I thought we did a pretty good job of that most
of the night. If you do that then we’re going to put them in situations where they had to come out of
the paint and we could pick up some fouls in those pursuits. Playing to [Breanna] Stewart and playing
to Natasha [Howard], and Sue [Bird] finishing like she did, and Alysha Clark was very important for
timely baskets, and Kaleena [Mosqueda-Lewis] was really a story off the bench.”
(On the competition with Connecticut’s two bigs)
“It was real hard, but I can’t really say we stopped them when Chiney [Ogwumike] gets 30 points but
she’s such a real athlete. They do such a great job of movement into her catches. We had a hard
time staying attached to that movement and [Jasmine] Thomas is just relentless, constantly
attacking. We did okay at some other spots in their lineup but those two were just exceptional —
Chiney especially. She separates from screens, or even if you anticipate she’s going to screen, and
she’s got [a lot] of separation between you as the defender and you’re in trouble. Luckily she had to
deal with our interior players – which was [Breanna] Stewart and Natasha [Howard] – and we were
making them work defensively at the same time. So, it was just a battle, just a real battle.”

STORM FORWARD KALEENA MOSQUEDA-LEWIS

(On the win)
“This was a statement win for us, Connecticut has played really well up until this point and they did tonight.
So luckily for us we played a better game, I think that we have been progressing every game, from the
bench to our starters getting us going from the beginning. Tonight was a big win for us.”
(On shooting)
“It felt nice to get into a flow, our team has been playing so well. We have been making and emphasis to
get production from everyone, and that makes everyone that much better. I want to do whatever I can
to keep our team moving forward and tonight that was making shots.”

STORM FORWARD BREANNA STEWART

(On this game in comparison to last year)
“I think that in last year’s game we went into it on a high, and this game, this season, we have just
prepared ourselves better. We know that anything can happen any night, but at the same time we
know that we can compete with anybody. Connecticut has proven that they are one of the best
teams, but so have we.”
(On fourth quarter)
“We were just being aggressive. We got to the free throw line multiple times in the last two minutes.
We knew that they were going to make plays, but this is our home court. So, we continued to be
aggressive.”

SKY HEAD COACH CURT MILLER

(On the game overall)
“It was a high level game, both teams shot the ball terrifically. Both teams tried to switch things up
defensively, there is a reason both of us are at the top of the standings in offense statistics. When you
make a mistake both teams make you pay.”
(On last game)
“More of an effect that our star player got hurt in that last game. To have play a whole game without
your star player for the first time is always an adjustment. She’s our toughness, she’s our warrior, she’s
the one kid who consistently gets to the foul line for us, so the foul line discrepancy might not be as
bad if you have your kid that can get to the foul line, playing [in this game].”
(On scoring in the paint)
“Both teams played well, they shot it well, sometimes those statistics are misleading. We fouled in the
paint, so if we don’t foul and they score in the paint, its probably closer in the points in the paint
category. It is a make or miss league and they made some though shots. We had a tough night
keeping them off of the foul line. When you take 19 less foul shots then the home team you will not
win many of those games, even though we significantly outscored them in baskets.”

SUN GUARD JASMINE THOMAS

(On her mindset going into the game)
“They are a great offensive team. They are extremely confident, they have great tempo, they screen
really well, so you have to be really focused defensively in order to even slow them down. They play
great team defense, they make you really work for every basket. They make you have to make good
reads in order to score. They are a good team and we did some good things tonight too, once we
got in our rhythm and could break them down a little more, but they are just a good team.”

SUN FORWARD CHINEY OGWUMIKE

(On her offensive game)
“I just like to keep my feet moving and make myself available for my teammates. Our team is full of
talented scorers, Courtney Williams coming off of a 30-point game, Jasmine Thomas is a great pull-up
shooter, JJ [Jonquel Jones] is a shooter, we’ve got Strick [Shekinna Stricklen], we’ve got three-point
shooters, Rachel Banham; so I think everyone really focuses on the perimeter and I just try to hold
down the paint. My teammates found me, and I just wish that we had a little bit more balance. As
great as it is to score, I wish we had more balance so that we could have kept the defense honest,
but our team, our guards have done so well this year, I just have to make sure I have their back.”
(On the team’s comeback)
“We keyed in our defense. The first seven, eight games of the season we were so focused on our
offense, it was fun, it was exciting and I think we fell in love with it. But we really need to fall in love
with our defense because championship teams have great defense. Seattle is playing really well,
they play on both ends, for us, we need to figure out how to be a defensive team that can really
push and go. Get the rebounds and let that fuel our offense when the shots aren’t falling. We have to
focus on our defensive pressure and everything else will fall in line.”