Seattle Storm's rematch vs. Washington Mystics results in 78-64 loss

Their promising four-game homestand, which included a couple blowout wins and a last-second loss, ended with a dud for the Storm, who came out flat and never posed much of a threat Wednesday night.

Three days earlier at Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle trounced the Washington Mystics while scoring 97 points and draining 13 three-pointers - both season-highs.

However, the rematch was a much different story.

The Storm sputtered offensively while tallying season-lows in points and three-pointers during a 78-64 defeat in front of 9,202 that snapped a two-game winning streak.

"Their physicality disrupted us a little bit," coach Sonia Raman said. "There were a few really good shots that we got as well, that didn't go down. Our shooting percentage was 21.7 from three, and obviously it was a lot higher in that last game.

"If a few of those fall, I think we feel a bit better about it."

The Storm (3-5) shot 34.9% from the field and 21.7% on three-pointers (five of 23) - both season-lows.

The offensive troubles were highlighted by a quartet of starters - Natisha Hiedeman, Flau'jae Johnson, Jordan Horston and Stefanie Dolson - combining for 20 points on 6-for-30 shooting, including 1 for 12 behind the arc.

Jade Melbourne, who connected on six of eight shots and finished with a team-high 15 points, was the only Storm player in double-figure scoring.

"The ball movement got a little bit stagnant," Melbourne said. "We depended on maybe going a little bit (with) one-on-one stuff that we'd gotten away with maybe in the past (when) the shots were falling, but when the shots aren't falling, we need to find ways to move the ball.

"I can take responsibility for that as a point guard, calling particular plays to get the ball moving a bit more. We got a little bit sticky tonight."

The Storm fell behind 12-2 at the start and the Mystics used a 9-0 run to go up 23-9 midway through the first quarter.

Seattle answered with an 8-0 spurt to close within five points (23-18) and kept things relatively close early in the second quarter when Lexie Brown drained a three-pointer from the wing that trimmed its deficit to 32-25.

Over the next 5½ minutes, the Mystics separated from the Storm with a 12-0 run, capped by a couple of free throws from Georgia Amoore for a 44-25 lead. Curiously, the Storm didn't call a timeout during the spurt.

Amoore finished the first half with a step-back jumper with 1.0 seconds on the clock over Hiedeman, who torched her in the previous game with a highlight jumper just before the break.

"That first quarter was probably the biggest culprit right there," Raman said, noting the Storm gave up 28 points in the first quarter and were outscored 20-9 in the second period. "Just the urgency that we came out with and our focus on both ends of the of the ball (was) kind of what set the stage. And then from there, we were just kind of trying to climb."

Melbourne added: "You can't allow a team to have 28 points in the first quarter and expect to come back, and then also have a nine-point second quarter. That's just not good basketball."

Down 48-29 at halftime, the Storm began the third quarter with six unanswered points, which prompted a Mystics timeout.

Washington quickly regained control and rebuilt its lead to 74-49 early in the fourth quarter – the 25-point deficit was the largest of the season for the Storm.

The Mystics used a dominant effort from their front line comprised of Shakira Austin (18 points and 13 rebounds), Michaela Onyenwere (14 points) and Kiki Iriafen (13 points and nine rebounds) to overpower and outrebound the Storm 40 to 31.

Washington (3-3), which ranks last in the WNBA in three-pointers, also made seven shots behind the arc while shooting 42.4% from the field to snap a two-game skid.

"We won't turn the page," Raman said. "We're never going to turn the page on any game. We want to make sure that, win or lose, we learn and we grow. We'll go back. We'll watch film. We'll process it and then make the adjustments we need to make because some of the things that happened today are things that we want to be better at going forward, no matter who we play."

The Storm head to Canada for Saturday's game against the Toronto Tempo (4-4), which begins a two-game road trip that includes a stop in Dallas to face the Wings (4-3) on Monday.

Note

• Toni Patillo and Teresa Stuck comprised a two-person officiating crew on Wednesday while Tiara Cruse missed the game.

BOX SCORE

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 11:43 PM.