On paper, a Seattle Storm workforce headlined by Jewell Loyd, Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins-Smith, and Ezi Magbegor ought to be contending for a WNBA championship this season.
However, the star-studded roster assembled this offseason hasn’t translated to constant on-court play. At 18-11, the Storm have fallen to fifth total within the WNBA standings, and so they’ve misplaced three of 4 video games because the Olympic break.
On Monday, Seattle fell to Washington, 76-74, after Mystics guard Brittney Sykes sunk a pair of game-winning free throws with a second to play.
Sykes was ready to attract the foul on Storm guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, who was vocal in her frustrations with the workforce’s all-around play after the sport.
“I f***ed it up on the finish, and it’s a horrible foul — as a vet, you possibly can’t make that play,” she stated. “Nevertheless it shouldn’t f***ing down to come back all the way down to that.”
Diggins-Smith lamented Seattle’s effort; they allowed the Mystics to attain 24 first-quarter factors, and appeared a step sluggish and disjointed defensively from the leap.
“On this league, for those who aren’t able to play, you’ll get beat each f***ing night time,” Diggins-Smith stated. “They have been able to play, and we weren’t — on each side of the basketball. They deserved to win, if we’re going to play like that.”
Diggins-Smith completed the sport with 10 factors, 8 assists, and 4 turnovers. Nneka Ogwumike had 9 factors (4-14 FG), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and a pair of steals. Jewel Loyd struggled from the sphere however led the best way in scoring, ending with 16 factors on 5-18 taking pictures.
For the Mystics, Sykes led the best way with 20 factors, whereas Emily Engstler added 12 factors on 5-8 taking pictures off the bench.
The loss makes Seattle 5-5 of their final 10 video games. If the playoffs began immediately, they’d face the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces on the street within the first spherical.
“We must be hitting our stride proper now, and we’re not there,” Diggins-Smith stated. “It’s unacceptable how we’re taking part in on each side of the basketball.”
Skylar Diggins-Smith was fairly heated after the Storm’s loss to the Mystics tonight:
“On this league, for those who aren’t able to play, you’ll get beat each fucking night time.
“It’s unacceptable how we’re taking part in on each side of the basketball.” pic.twitter.com/9LzVPA0WYl
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) August 27, 2024
“All of us should look ourselves within the mirror and maintain ourselves accountable,” stated Sami Whitcomb, who added 11 factors off the bench.
Storm head coach Noelle Quinn echoed her gamers’ sentiment that the workforce didn’t strategy the sport accurately, and took possession for not having them able to go.
“On offense, we weren’t related,” Quinn stated. “We didn’t play this sport with the right power or mindset.”
Diggins-Smith urged the workforce to be higher shifting ahead.
“All of us should step our sport up. On this league, it solely will get tougher after the break,” Diggins-Smith stated. “And that’s nice, that’s nice. But when we don’t come able to play from the beginning, we’re going to f***ing lose.”
