Breanna Stewart scored 20 points as the host Seattle Storm dominated the Indiana Fever in a 73-57 victory Friday night.
Stewart needed just nine field-goal attempts and four baskets to lead all scorers, as she made 2 of 5 3-point attempts and 10 of 12 at the foul line. Ezi Magbegor scored 11 points and Gabby Williams added 10 points for the Storm (13-7), who earned their fourth win in five games.
Queen Egdo had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Fever (5-17), who lost all four games on their road trip. Indiana shot just 34.4 percent (21 of 61) from the floor, including 23.5 percent (4 of 17) on 3-point tries, and made just 47.8 percent (11 of 23) of its free throws.
Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana’s leading scorer with an average of 19.2 points per game, scored just three points on 1-for-6 shooting from the floor.
The Fever struggled on offense throughout, scoring 11 points in the first quarter, 16 in the second quarter and 15 in the third quarter before outscoring Seattle 15-10 in the fourth quarter.
The Storm took command of the game by outscoring the Fever by 11 in the second quarter to grab a 19-point halftime lead.
The Fever scored the first five points of the third quarter to climb within 46-32.
Magbegor sank a layup for the Storm’s first points of the third quarter, and she made another basket that pushed the lead to 55-36 midway through the period.
Williams scored seven points as Seattle pushed the gap to 63-36.
Egbo converted a three-point play and Emily Engstler hit a 3-pointer in a 6-0 run that trimmed the deficit to 63-42 at the end of the period.
Indiana held a 9-7 lead before Seattle went on a 12-2 run that produced a 19-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Fever closed within five points before 3-pointers by Sue Bird and Tina Charles helped give Seattle a 46-27 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
