Loyd scores 25, Storm top Mystics 84-75 for first win

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.

Ariel Atkins had 19 points for Washington, Karlie Samuelson had 13 and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 12. Aaliyah Edwards, picked sixth in the first round, had nine points and 11 rebounds.

Washington turned 20 Seattle turnovers into 26 points, double the Storm total, but was beaten 14-6 on the offensive boards for a 21-5 deficit in second-chance points.

The Storm overcame a seven-point deficit and Samuelson’s 10 points on 3-for-3 shooting from 3-point range to lead 18-15 after one quarter.

Loyd found the range in the middle of the second quarter and a 17-5 run gave the Storm a 15-point run before the Mystics scored the last 10 points in the last minute and a half to pull within 39-34. Loyd missed her first six shots and had just two free throws before making 4 of 5 for 13 points at the break.

Washington started the third quarter with an 11-4 run, taking a 45-43 lead on an Atkins 3-pointer, the Mystics’ first lead since 15-13. The Mystics got up by as many as five but it was just 64-62 after Diggins-Smith drilled a long 3 just before the buzzer.