WNBA scoring leader Jewell Loyd attempts to bounce back from a season-low point total when the Seattle Storm host the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night.
Loyd tallied just 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting, missing all eight 3-point attempts, as Seattle (7-21) dropped an 81-69 home game against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday.
Loyd’s scoring average dipped to 24.3 points per game. She has scored 30-plus points in nine games this season and also ranks second in the WNBA with 86 3-pointers.
The loss was the sixth straight at home for the Storm, who are just 2-13 at Climate Pledge Arena as they enter the second contest of a four-game homestand.
“We have this great environment that should propel us and help us, but we have not used it to our advantage most of the time,” Seattle guard Sami Whitcomb said after Tuesday’s setback.
“I could not tell you what that is. Maybe our mindset is a little more focused on the road. I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you.”
Atlanta (15-13) recorded an 82-73 victory over the Indiana Fever on Sunday after losing two straight and five of its previous seven games.
“Good feel-good win for us,” Dream coach Tanisha Wright said. “When you’re coming off of a two-game losing streak, I don’t care how you get one. You gotta go get one.”
Rhyne Howard scored 24 points and Allisha Gray added 21 in Atlanta’s victory.
The breakout game was timely for Howard, who averaged just 10.2 points over the previous five games. It was her 11th 20-point outing of the season.
Loyd missed the first meeting of the season against Atlanta on July 12 due to a foot injury. Gray scored 19 points and Cheyenne Parker added 18 as Atlanta registered an 85-75 home victory. Rookie Jordan Horston scored a season-best 23 points to go with 10 rebounds and three steals for Seattle.
Horston is averaging just 4.3 points over the Storm’s past three games.
Seattle’s Gabby Williams sustained a stress fracture in her left foot against the Sun and will miss approximately four to six weeks. Williams is averaging 8.4 points, 3.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 10 games (eight starts) for the Storm this season.
–Field Level Media
