Seattle Storm drop Connecticut Sun for Sonia Raman's first WNBA win
The start of the Storm's three-game road trip looked conspicuously like their season-opening loss less than 48 hours earlier.
In a Sunday morning Mother's Day matchup against the Connecticut Sun, Seattle scored 29 points in the first quarter - the second most by a WNBA team this season.
For the second straight game, the Storm's early lead dissipated before halftime, but Lexie Brown's scintillating three-point explosion in the third quarter put them back on top and set up a nail-biting finish.
At the end, the Storm's defense, which allowed 91 points two days prior, held the Sun without a field goal in the final 3½ minutes to claim a 89-82 win that gave first-year coach Sonia Raman her first WNBA victory.
"It's exciting," Brown said. "This team has worked so hard the last few weeks in training camp, getting after it, growing together and pouring into each other.
"So, to be able to get this first win - I wish we would have gotten it at home - but road wins are special. You need those down the stretch, so I'm just really proud of this."
When asked about the postgame celebration, rookie Flau'jae Johnson initially hid her excitement and said: "We didn't do nothing."
Then, she smiled broadly.
"Nah, we got wet," Johnson said laughing. "I'm a little wet. Threw some water on coach. It's her first one. My first one too. I was going to cry when the clock was ticking down because I was like, ‘Oh my God.' It was a great feeling.
"I love coach. She's one of the smartest people I've ever been around. The things she drops, she really deserves this. This is going to be the first of many with her. So, it was a good vibe."
The good vibes came courtesy of the Storm's quartet of guards - Brown, Johnson, Jade Melbourne and Natisha Hiedeman - who accounted for 59 points and overcame foul trouble and a rough outing from their injury-depleted frontcourt.
Brown, who sank a career-high tying five three-pointers including four in the third quarter, led the way with 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting off the bench while Johnson had 16 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Melbourne, who lost half of her front tooth in the opener, bloodied her lip after taking an elbow to the mouth and finished with 15 points and six assists.
Meanwhile, Hiedeman chipped in 11 points.
In the first six minutes, Johnson displayed a versatile offensive attack while draining a three-pointer, drawing fouls for free throws, pulling up for midrange jumpers and scoring inside.
After scooping a layup over Sun center Brittney Griner, the 5-foot-10 guard hit the too-small taunt, holding her hand low to the ground and extending her fingers wide.
"When I (saw) BG down there, (I thought) I'm about to light her … so I just went and laid it," Johnson said. "I didn't second guess it. If I would have second guessed, I would have been like ‘Nah, I'm going to shoot the floater.' But I was like ‘I'm going to light her.' You can't second guess. You got to have that confidence."
Brown, who was scoreless on 0-for-2 shooting and committed four turnovers in the opener, felt a similar surge of confidence.
The Storm trailed 54-51 midway in the third quarter when she took over and seized control while draining four straight shots behind the arc to go ahead 63-54 with 3:20 left in the period.
"The last two days, my teammates have just been telling me that I need to shoot the ball," Brown said. "So, just having that confidence entering this game, and we were down a little bit, and I just felt like we needed a little pick me up. So I decided to shoot the ball. My teammates did a great job of finding me when I was open.
"It's just a testament to all the work that I've been putting in. I get up a lot of shots every day. So honestly, for me, when I'm able to just see the rim, I'm just excited about that and I just have to take the shots and be confident to make them."
Led by Aneesah Morrow (17 points and 16 rebounds), Diamond Miller (13 points) and Griner (16 points), the Sun (0-2) tied it three times in the fourth quarter, but the Storm never relinquished the lead.
Tied at 68 apiece, Melbourne put Seattle up for good after draining a three-pointer with 7:55 left.
The Sun didn't go away quietly and trailed 80-79 after Kennedy Burke (12 points) made a three-pointer with 3:38 remaining.
Seattle outscored Connecticut, which missed its final four field goals, 9-3 the rest of the way.
In their final appearance at the Mohegan Sun Arena, the Storm (1-1) improved to 27-32. The Sun, who plays two games in Seattle in May, are relocating to Houston next year after 23 years in Uncasville, Conn.
Raman, who grew up in nearby Framingham, Mass., had several family members and friends in attendance, dedicated her first WNBA win to her mom.
"It's kind of like the luck of the draw," she said. "It ends up happening here, but I couldn't be more happy that my family was here. My mom's here. It's Mother's Day. So, Happy Mother's Day to her. She gets a Mother's Day win out of it."
The Storm head to Canada for their first-ever game against the Toronto Tempo on Wednesday before wrapping up the road trip against the Indiana Fever on May 17.
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