Jewell Loyd scored a game-high 24 points and the Seattle Storm racked up 25 points off turnovers as they cruised to a 97-74 victory over the visiting Phoenix Mercury on Saturday night.
Ezi Magbegor added 15 points for the Storm (4-9), while Sami Whitcomb and Joyner Holmes came off the bench to net 14 and 12 points, respectively. Seattle canned 47.1 percent of its shots from the field and hit 13 of 32 3-point attempts.
Moriah Jefferson scored 18 points to lead four Phoenix players in double figures. Michaela Onyenwere added 14 points, while Diana Taurasi netted 13 and Brittney Griner contributed 11. The Mercury hit 46.4 percent of their shots but couldn’t overcome 21 total turnovers.
Taurasi and Griner returned after missing the last three games with hamstring and hip injuries, respectively, but their insertion into the lineup couldn’t prevent Phoenix from falling to 2-10. The Mercury dropped their fifth consecutive game and have allowed at least 80 points in every game but one this season.
Any chance Phoenix had of making a fourth-quarter run ended when it permitted the Storm to score on their first four possessions of the period. Yvonne Turner’s layup made it 85-64 with 6:29 remaining, and the game’s remainder was a race to the final horn.
The teams played on even terms for most of the first quarter, although Seattle was able to take a 19-15 lead with the help of a 9-4 run in the final 4:06. Phoenix helped out by committing four turnovers in that span.
In a 30-point second quarter, the Storm got going from behind the arc. They hit five threes, including two in a row by Whitcomb that helped expand Seattle’s lead as high as 17 points before the Storm settled for a 49-34 advantage at the break.
Seattle spent the third quarter mostly keeping the Mercury at arm’s length, upping the margin to 20 on two occasions late in the period. Mercedes Russell answered a 7-0 Phoenix burst with a baseline jumper that made it 72-57 going to the fourth.
–Field Level Media
