SEATTLE — Jewell Loyd scored 21 of his 32 points in the first half, Sami Whitcomb scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter and the Seattle Storm held off rookie Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever 85-83 on Wednesday night.
Loyd, the WNBA’s leading scorer last year, overcame a slow start to the season to win the 22nd 30-point game of her career.
Loyd and Whitcomb combined for 18 of Seattle’s 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Storm (2-3) needed all those points to hold off a late rally and keep the Fever (0-5) winless.
Clark finished with a team-high 21 points two days after rolling his left ankle in a home loss to Connecticut.
She struggled early against Seattle, but sparked a rally in the third quarter and helped give the Fever a 60-58 lead heading into the fourth.
Seattle led by seven early in the fourth quarter.
Clark’s three free throws with 1:50 left pulled the Fever within 79-77, but Seattle got baskets from Jordan Horston and Ezi Magbegor on consecutive possessions.
The Fever were 84-83 after two free throws from Clark. Seattle committed a turnover with 11 seconds remaining, giving Indiana a chance to win.
Clark fumbled on the inbounds pass and a jump ball was controlled by Nneka Ogwumike, who made one of two free throws.
Indiana was out of timeouts and could only get Aliyah Boston’s desperation attempt at the buzzer to go offline.
Ogwumike added 22 points after missing the last two games with an ankle injury.
quarter of Fever’s loss to the Storm. Getty Images
While most of the sold-out crowd of 18,343 – the largest for a game in Seattle – wore the green and gold of the Storm, there were a good handful of No. 22 Indiana jerseys and shirts and from Iowa for Clark.
She put on a show the last time she was in the building during the 2023 NCAA women’s tournament when she helped lead Iowa to the Final Four, including a triple-double in the regional final.
Clark missed his first four shots before scoring on a groundstroke early in the second quarter.
Her first 3-pointer didn’t come until midway through the third quarter and she finished 6 of 16 shooting, including 2 of 8 from behind the arc.
Seattle rookie Nika Muhl made her Seattle debut after missing the first four games of the season due to visa issues.
Muhl arrived late in the third quarter to a rapturous ovation, only to see Clark make a 3 on him.
New York Post
