Despite Stewart's fifth double-double of the season, Storm lose to Stars

 

SAN ANTONIO - Despite a 19-point, 15-rebound performance from rookie forward Breanna Stewart, the Seattle Storm lost 77-70 to the San Antonio Stars on Tuesday at the AT&T Center.

Trailing by double digits for much of the night, Seattle made it a close game in the fourth quarter, pulling within one point in the final minute on a layup by Jewell Loyd. San Antonio’s Moriah Jefferson then split a pair of free throws, but the Stars secured the rebound on her miss and Kayla McBride knocked down a three-pointer with 18.9 seconds remaining.  Storm guard Sue Bird missed on the other end, and the Stars hit two more free throws to put the game out of reach.

Stewart, who leads the WNBA in rebounding, recorded her fifth double-double of the season but shot just 5-for-18 from the field on Tuesday. Loyd had 17 points and Alysha Clark added 14 for Seattle, while Jefferson led San Antonio with a career-high 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Jefferson, the rookie who played alongside Stewart at UConn, made eight of her first nine shots to help the Stars build their early advantage.

San Antonio held the Storm (4-7) to just 32.9 percent shooting, while the Stars (2-7) connected on a season-high 45.3 percent of their field goals. Despite Stewart’s 15 rebounds, San Antonio won the rebounding battle 45-32 thanks to a career-high 18 boards from Dearica Hamby.

 

After recording 20 points on average in her previous two games, Bird didn’t score until the final two minutes of the third quarter and finished with seven points on 3-for-10 shooting.

McBride scored 18 points and Hamby added 15 for the Stars, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

Following Tuesday’s game, the Storm will close out its road trip on Thursday with the franchise’s first-ever game in Dallas against the Wings. Seattle then hosts the defending champion Minnesota Lynx on Sunday, June 19.