The Seattle Storm had a road trip to forget, and it ended with a loss to the Atlanta Dream without star player Jewell Loyd. The Storm had won two of their first three games on the road trip, but they were unable to get the job done against the Dream.
The Storm were without Loyd, who was out with an ankle injury. She had been averaging 17.7 points and 4.7 assists per game prior to the injury. Without her, the Storm struggled to find an offensive spark. They shot just 33 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range.
The Dream, on the other hand, were able to take advantage of the Storm’s lack of offensive firepower. They shot 45 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range. They also out-rebounded the Storm 41-37.
The Dream were led by Tiffany Hayes, who scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting. She also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists. Angel McCoughtry added 20 points and nine rebounds, while Renee Montgomery had 15 points and seven assists.
The Storm were led by Natasha Howard, who had 19 points and eight rebounds. Alysha Clark added 16 points and four assists, while Sue Bird had 11 points and six assists.
The loss was a tough one for the Storm, as they had been hoping to get back on track after a rough start to the season. They now sit at 4-5 on the season, and they will need to find a way to get back in the win column if they want to make a run at the playoffs.
Without Loyd in the lineup, the Storm will need to find other players to step up and provide some scoring punch. It will be a tough task, but if they can do it, they may be able to turn their season around and make a push for the playoffs.
