Loyd shines as storm stops fever | News, Sports, Jobs

AP PHOTO BY DEAN RUTZ/THE SEATTLE TIMES – Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark (22) snatches the ball from the hands of Seattle Storm’s Ezi Magbegor during the first half of a WNBA basketball game Thursday at Seattle.

SEATTLE — Jewell Loyd scored 23 of her 34 points in the first half and played most of the game with a swollen left eye, and the Seattle Storm held Caitlin Clark to just three points in the second half of an 89-77 win over Indiana Fever on Thursday night.

Seattle (11-6) improved to 2-0 to begin a WNBA-record nine-game home series that won’t see the Storm hit the road until mid-July.

Clark finished with 15 points and seven assists, playing in front of another sold-out crowd with many fans wearing various No. 22 jerseys with his name on the back.

But it was Loyd who put on the show.

“We knew this was going to happen and when it happens, it comes like a storm. Like a dam. We know she can score points,” Seattle coach Noelle Quinn said.

Loyd made five 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes and her 23 first-half points were the second-most of any WNBA player this season. She also missed nearly five minutes of the half after being inadvertently hit around the left eye late in the first quarter.

Loyd finished with six 3-pointers and hit 10 of 15 shots overall. It was her second game of the season with at least 30 points — both against Indiana. She has 23 career games of 30 or more points, tied with Tina Charles for sixth in league history.

Loyd had gone four straight games without reaching the 20-point mark, including a loss to Las Vegas where she missed all nine shots and finished with one point.

“I feel good. I felt good before. Sometimes they just don’t come in,” Loyd said.

For the second time in five weeks, Climate Pledge Arena was sold out for Clark and the Fever’s visit with more than 18,000 people. This time, the crowd included Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe, Pro Football Hall of Famer Walter Jones, JP Crawford of the Seattle Mariners and Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Seattle made it a tough night for Indiana’s star rookie, especially in the second half when Clark was often forced to give up the ball because of the way the Storm defended the pick-and-roll. She attempted only two shots after halftime and finished the game shooting 4 of 9.

There were also times when Clark was open and her teammates couldn’t find her.

“When you’re playing on a ball screen a lot and you’re getting blitzed, you’re going to have to give up the ball. That’s just the way it goes,” Clark said.

Clark appeared to tweak her left leg early in the first quarter on a drive to the basket, but she brushed off the need for a replacement. It took him more than eight minutes to find the scoresheet on a deep 3-point basket. She finished with 12 points in the first half, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with Loyd at the other end.

“We are competitors. We want to win. It never really felt right tonight, even when we cut it down to nine o’clock. I just didn’t feel like it was going very well,” Clark said.

Ezi Magbegor added 18 points and Nneka Ogwumike had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Seattle.

Erica Wheeler also scored 15 points for Indiana and Kelsey Mitchell finished with 14.

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