A third-quarter rally saw Seattle wipe away an eight-point halftime deficit before holding off a late Chicago surge as the Storm beat the visiting Sky 84-71 on Sunday.
Nneka Ogwumike led Seattle (14-7) with 24 points and 13 rebounds and had nine points in the third-quarter rally. Jewell Loyd scored a dozen points in the third and finished with 20. Skylar Diggins-Smith chipped in 15 points and eight assists. Ezi Magbegor added a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Sky rookie Angel Reese bundled 17 points with 14 rebounds to set a WNBA record with her 13th straight double-double. Reese had tied Candace Parker for the mark in Friday’s 88-84 win over the Storm.
Chennedy Carter paced Chicago (8-12) with 21 points, albeit on 7-for-22 shooting. Marina Mabrey chipped in 14 points and six assists, while reserve Isabelle Harrison tallied 11 points.
The Sky held a 39-31 halftime lead after holding Seattle to just 29.4 percent shooting. But while Chicago used a 30-point third quarter to sink the Storm on Friday, this time Seattle turned the tables with a 29-14 edge in the third to take control.
The Storm’s 24-5 run over the first 7 1/2 minutes of the second half proved decisive. Loyd and Ogwumike accounted for 18 of those points as Seattle shot 11-for-17 (64.7 percent) for the quarter.
The hosts stretched the lead to 14 points on a Diggins-Smith jumper with 7:13 to play before the Sky crept back. Chicago pulled within 72-69 on a pair of Carter free throws with 2:49 left before the Storm scored the next 12 points to seal the win.
Seattle won the teams’ season series 2-1.
–Field Level Media