Seattle Storm suffer heartbreaking loss as skid reaches 8 straight games
This time, they had their chances.
The Storm were on the brink of erasing a 15-point deficit from the third quarter. They had the 10,648 at Climate Pledge Arena on their feet and the Golden State Valkyries on their heels with a fourth-quarter rally that cut their deficit to a point in the final minute.
With a chance to take the lead, rookie guard Flau'jae Johnson missed a contested layup with 24.2 seconds left.
Down three points moments later, Natisha Hiedeman launched a hurried three-pointer that was blocked and the Storm walked off the court with a heartbreaking 76-72 defeat and their eighth straight loss Friday night.
"We don't ever give up, regardless of the score," Hiedeman said. "That's a good thing about our team. We are full of competitors. We have a lot of fight, but just proud of us to be able to even put ourselves in a position to win that game."
Learning how to win games is a skill that isn't definable as perfecting a jump shot or crafting a crossover dribble, but it's an invaluable trait for a young team amid the longest losing streak in the WNBA.
Two nights earlier, the Storm (3-12) faltered in the final minutes of a bitter 88-83 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, which prompted questions about their ability to finish games.
"It's just controlling things that we can control," Johnson said. "You can't control the ball going or not in the basket, but the principles that we can control and the things that are in our power, I feel like those are things that win close games."
She also added: "Not getting in close games helps too."
With Hiedeman scoring 13 of a career-high 26 points in the first half, the Storm trailed 40-38 at break before being outscored 26-15 in the third quarter and falling behind 66-51.
Hiedeman and Dominique Malonga carried the offense and led a comeback attempt while the Storm held the Valkyries to 1-for-16 shooting and 10 points in the fourth quarter.
"Just got stops," coach Sonia Raman said. "We were able to push. We were able to run. We were able to generate some points off turnovers. Some good shot making as well going into the fourth quarter, but I think just some timely runs."
Down 69-57, the Storm used a 13-2 run to close to 71-70 after a couple Malonga free throws with 50.3 seconds left.
That's when Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes lost the ball and Johnson could have given the Storm their first lead in the second half, but her layup attempt missed the mark.
Former Storm forward Gabby Williams, who had 19 points, sank two free throws that put the Valkyries up 75-72 and Kiah Stokes blocked Hiedeman's three-pointer at the other end to seal the game.
Janelle Salaun scored 22 points and Hayes had 17 for Golden State, which improved to 8-5.
The Storm will have a five-day break - their longest of the season - before their next game, a short trip to Portland to face the expansion Fire on Wednesday.
"It'll be really good for us," Raman said. "We have that time to recover and let their bodies recover a little bit. It's been quite a schedule most recently with the travel that we've had. So, lean into the recovery first of all and then from there get into being able to touch a few things that we haven't been able to do as much with our full group.
"Be able to get some individual work in with our player development, and then you know full team activity and then eventually prepping for our next game. But it is nice to be able to have a little bit more time for the teaching aspect and being able to add some new things during that time."
BOX SCORE
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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 11:37 PM.