Loyd scores 25, Magbegor has double
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jewell Loyd overcame a slow start to score 24 points, Ezi Magbegor had a double-double and the Seattle Storm pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat the Washington Mystics 84-75 on Sunday.
Both teams entered the game at 0-2.
Seattle outscored Washington 22-11 in the fourth quarter, going on a 20-5 run with Loyd scoring eight points and Skylar Diggins-Smith and Victoria Vivians adding six.
Down four with eight minutes to go, Vivians hit a 3-pointer and Loyd made two free throws to put the Storm up 69-68. Diggins-Smith scored the next four points before Loyd had Seattle’s next eight for a 79-73 lead with 2:38 to go. Vivians’ free throws pushed it to 84-73 at 1:17.
Diggins-Smith had 18 points and Magbegor had 16 with 14 rebounds.
Leading scorer Nneka Ogwumike missed the game after injuring an ankle injury suffered late in the Storm’s double overtime loss at Minnesota on Friday. Mercedes Russell stepped in to score eight points and led Seattle with a plus-22 rating. Ogwumike is expected to return for Seattle’s game in New York on Monday.