Jewell Loyd's 32 points help Seattle Storm hold off Caitlin Clark, Fever in 85-83 victory
SEATTLE - While Caitlin Clark's first game in Seattle may have been the headline on Wednesday night, it was Jewell Loyd and the Storm that stole the spotlight from the Indiana rookie attraction.
Loyd put on a show in leading the effort with 32 points, Nneka Ogwumike added 22 in her return to the lineup, and the Storm held serve for an 85-83 victory over the Fever in front of a Storm-record 18,343 at Climate Pledge Arena.
"I just kind of cleared my head. I was in a good headspace coming into today's game. Maybe it was just sleeping in my own bed with my dogs, but I just kind of reset and changed my routine a little bit and then caught a little rhythm," Loyd said.
Clark had a great second half after a slow start to finish with 21 points and seven assists to help Indiana rally back and grab a fourth quarter lead. However, Loyd, Ogwumike, and 10 fourth quarter points from Sami Whitcomb helped the Storm keep Indiana winless on the season.
Trailing by one with 10.3 seconds left, Clark fumbled the inbound pass and the scramble resulted in an actual jump ball with 4.7 remaining. Ogwumike snatched the loose ball off the tip and was fouled with 2.6 left and converted a free throw to make it a two-point game. Aliyah Boston's half court heave at the buzzer was widely off the mark and the Storm secured the victory.
The assignment of defending Clark largely fell on Skylar Diggins-Smith, who excelled at keeping Clark effectively tied up early. Clark was scoreless in the first period and 0-4 from 3-point range in the first half as she struggled to generate strong offensive chances.
"Regardless who we play, we really rely on our defense pressuring the point guards," Loyd said. "That's something that Skylar brings and that's what she wants to do and we rallied behind that."
Clark launched a 3-point try from atop the key that clanked off the rim with a minute left to go in the first half. Clark dropped her head and slapped her hands in frustration, retreating down the court as shots just wouldn't fall for the two-time Naismith Women's College Player of the Year.
Clark had just five points in the first half with just two made field goals.
Clark dropped a behind-the-back crossover that finally created space from Diggins-Smith as she drained her first 3-pointer of the night at the 5:10 mark of the third quarter. Just that one 3-pointer seemed to get Clark rolling as the Fever mounted a rally.
Clark drained another 3-pointer, found Katie Lou Samuelson in transition for a basket, and added a layup of her own as Indiana grabbed a lead inside the final two minutes of the quarter.
"It's still a process of learning when to be assertive," Clark said. "Sometimes it's hard when you start off a little bit cold."
A Whicomb 3-pointer to open the final period, along with back-to-back baskets from Ezi Magbegor helped the Storm restore their lead at 65-60.
Whitcomb scored all 10 of her points in the fourth quarter to slowly help the Storm extend their lead. Loyd was then fouled on a 3-point attempt and converted all three free throws to push the lead to 79-72 with 3:13 remaining. Whitcomb also drew defensive assignments against Clark in the latter stages of the contest.
"Coming into the fourth quarter and Sami hitting that three and that gave us momentum," Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said. "But prior to that she was very physical with Clark. She followed the scout to a T."
Clark drew a 3-point foul of her own from Whitcomb with 1:50 left to play and converted all three shots to trim the lead back to two, 79-77.
"She's a good player," Quinn said of Clark. "Shot-making ability, deep, you know we don't talk enough about her passing. She being six feet, she can see a lot, make a lot of reads and obviously teams are being aggressive on her and she's still finding ways to score, get to the rim and assist her teammates. She's confident. She's poised, she's different. She's a beast. We're talking about her being a generational talent, she has a lot of talent and she's gonna continue to keep getting better."
The teams continued to trade blows with Seattle holding a four-point edge, 83-79, inside the final minute. Loyd missed an acrobatic, contested layup attempt as the Fever quickly got out in transition. Clark found Kelsey Mitchell in the right corner and she drove baseline for a basket and foul from Ogwumike with 14 seconds left. However, the foul was overturned after a Storm challenge as the lead remained at two.
Loyd was fouled immediately on the inbounds try and converted just one of her free throws as the lead remained at three, 84-81. Clark was then immediately fouled by Seattle to keep her from getting a tying 3-point attempt away. Clark converted both her free throws as the Storm lead was cut to just one with 11.3 seconds remaining.
A jump ball call challenge on the inbounds by the Fever was also successful to grab possession with 11 seconds left with a chance to take the lead. But the scramble off the inbound play saw the opportunity to pounce slip away from Indiana.
Storm rookie Nika Mühl made her debut for Seattle after missing the first four games of the season due to visa issues. She played just over two minutes late in the third quarter with a pair of rebounds and a missed 3-pointer.
