Flau’jae Johnson led with 20 points, while Dominique Malonga contributed 18 as the Seattle Storm triumphed 90-78 over the undermanned Toronto Tempo in a home game on Wednesday evening. Jade Melbourne also stood out with 16 points and seven assists for Seattle (8-31), breaking a streak of 14 losses in their last 15 games. Awa Fam and Zia Cooke each chipped in 10 points for the winning team.
Toronto faced challenges with their top scorers Marina Mabrey (adductor), Brittney Sykes (foot), and Nyara Sabally (calf) unavailable. Despite this, rookie Kiki Rice shone with a season-best 24 points for Toronto (11-27), while Isabelle Harrison recorded 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Seattle’s strong performance saw them finish the third quarter with an 11-4 run, taking a 64-61 lead, and then opening the fourth quarter with a 9-2 streak to establish a 10-point lead.
Looking ahead, Toronto will face Las Vegas on Friday night, while Seattle is set to host Los Angeles on Sunday.