GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• With today’s win, Seattle improved its league-leading record to 22-7 and inched closer to securing the top seed heading into the 2018 WNBA Playoffs.
• Now at 11-3 on the road, Seattle has tied the franchise’s best road wins total, set in 2010 when the team went 11-6 on the road. With 3 road games remaining, the Storm has a chance to set the team’s best road record in history.
• Fourth-year guard Jewell Loyd scored her 2,000th-career point at the 5:45 mark of the fourth quarter. She finished with 17 points and 7 assists.
• Leading WNBA MVP candidate Breanna Stewart, who entered today’s game second in the WNBA in scoring, finished with 32 points, her 15th 25+ scoring effort and 5th 30+ scoring effort this season. She has now tied her own 20-point single-season scoring record of 21 games (2017) and can best that mark tomorrow night in Indiana.

KEY STATS OF THE GAME

• Seattle scored 35 points in the fourth quarter, led by 12 from Breanna Stewart, marking a new fourth quarter season-high for the team (previously 31 vs. Chicago, 6/12/18).
• With Seattle down 74-72 midway through the fourth quarter, Jewell Loyd hit a jumper to tie the game and ultimately spark a 15-0 Storm run over the next three minutes, capped by a Breanna Stewart layup, that put the Storm up 87-74 with 2:27 remaining in the contest.

STORM HIGHLIGHTS

• With 32 points today, Breanna Stewart now needs to average 15.6 PPG over Seattle’s remaining 5 regular-season games to match the franchise’s single-season scoring record, currently held by Lauren Jackson (739 points, 2007).
• Third-year forward Breanna Stewart’s 8.1 rebounds per game is fourth-best in the league, and she grabbed 9 today in New York.
• Guard Sue Bird recorded a game-high-tying 7 assists. She now has 199 assists on the season, needing 22 to match her career-best (221 in 2003) for a single-season and 37 to match the all-time record (236 in 2000) held by Ticha Penicheiro.
• Sue Bird swiped 4 steals, matching her season-high, a new season-high for the 16th-year guard.
• With 14 points and 10 rebounds today, Natasha Howard recorded her 5th double-double this season (6th for her career).
• Natasha Howard has grabbed a career-high 5 steals in back-to-back games, and recorded a season-high-tying 5 blocks today in New York.
• Crystal Langhorne came off the bench to grab 6 rebounds, matching her season-high.
• Seattle improved to 20-3 with the starting lineup of Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark and Natasha Howard.
• Seattle turned the ball over 8 times, one turnover above the team’s season-low (7, vs. Chicago, 7/25/18).
• Seattle’s current season average for shooting percentage stands at 46.9 percent, which currently ranks second all-time in franchise history (47.3 percent in 2017).
• Led by 5 steals from Natasha Howard, Seattle notched a season-high 16 steals today.
• The Storm’s 22 wins tied for second-most in franchise history (28 in 2010; 22 in 2008).
• Seattle now owns a 2-0 season series lead over the Liberty and will host New York again on Aug. 17 at KeyArena.
• With today’s 96-80 win and a 77-62 win over the Liberty on 7/3/18, this is the first time the Storm has won back-to-back games in New York since 2009-10, with the old WNBA schedule format that had teams playing Eastern Conference opponents on the road once per season.

NEXT GAME: Seattle returns to the hardwood tomorrow night at Indiana, with tip-off set for 4 p.m./PT at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.