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Jewell Loyd sets WNBA single-season scoring record in Storm’s final game – The Seattle Times
This game, much like this season, was all about Jewell Loyd and her pursuit of basketball immortality.
Heading into the Storm’s 91-89 loss against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday afternoon, she needed nine points to secure the WNBA single-season scoring record.
It took Loyd less than four minutes to make history.
With 6:33 left in the first quarter, Loyd launched a three-pointer over the outstretched hand of former Storm teammate and Sparks guard Jordin Canada for a historic shot that gave her the league record.
For an instant, the stoic and steely-cool Loyd appeared to succumb to emotions and the magnitude of the record-setting milestone while celebrating with teammates on the bench during a timeout.
Despite constant double teams from the Sparks, Loyd scored a game-high 28 points on 9-for-22 shooting and finished with 939 points for the season ahead of New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (919).
In lieu of a playoff run, Loyd gave the crowd of 10,728 at Climate Pledge Arena one last prolific scoring performance to remember in a record-breaking 2023 season that’s been short on wins while she racked up more points than anyone in WNBA history.
“That wasn’t a goal of mine at all coming into the season,” Loyd said. “Even hearing about it and talking about it, it never was a goal of mine. It kind of just happened naturally. I think it’s pretty cool. What I miss, (two) games and still was able to produce the way I was producing, so that’s pretty cool.
“It’s how I say thank you to my trainers back home, my teammates and everyone who supported me on the journey because it wasn’t easy to do what I was doing. … Maybe I’ll feel more about it after, but right now it’s just me being proud of everyone around me and saying thank you to them.”
In her first game since signing a two-year, $463,030 guaranteed contract extension with the Storm on Saturday, Loyd, who turns 30 next month, said she had no desire to become an unrestricted free agent.
“I didn’t have to think about it like seriously until a week ago,” Loyd said. “It’s kind of hard to make decisions while you’re in a season just because you’re not thinking about it. It takes a lot of energy and you have to focus in on what you’re going to do with your life.
“It didn’t feel like any pressure or I felt overwhelmed. At that same time, I understand the business and I knew kind of what I wanted. It was a feeling for me. At the end of the day it was a pretty easy decision.”
Loyd, who announced her decision Saturday afternoon with a social media post that read: “SEATTLE WE BACK!!!!”, told teammates a day earlier.
“We went to dinner and went out for Gabby (Williams’) birthday,” she said smiling. “I just told them, I’m back. They went ‘Yaaaaay, happy birthday Gabby.’ Just like that. It was her gift.”
Loyd’s return answers the biggest offseason question for the Storm, who return Ezi Magbegor, Sami Whitcomb, Kia Nurse and Mercedes Russell on the final year of guaranteed contracts.
Rookies Jordan Horston, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu and Jade Melbourne are also under contract with non-guaranteed deals that expire after the 2025 season.
“It says a lot about her commitment to the Storm, the community and the fans that have embraced her since Day 1,” coach Noelle Quinn said when asked about Loyd’s extension. “She feels that. She’s choosing to do it in a way that’s different for this time frame. It’s not easy to commit to a rebuild.
“At this point you could easily go chase something, but she’s made the decision to stick with us. I give credit to our front office and our owners who pour into our team in a lot of ways. We see them all the time. They’re here and they care and I know Jewell feels that. Kudos to the Storm for getting it done.”
While Loyd soared to unprecedented heights, the Storm (11-29) lost more games than ever before and their .275 winning percentage is the second lowest in franchise history. They started the season 4-19 before a midseason resurgence in which they went 6-3 revived faint playoff hopes.
However, Seattle finished the season losing seven of its last eight games.
“Our team was extremely competitive this year,” Quinn said. “I thought that the locker room was kept really tight. Chemistry and camaraderie were amazing. It was a joy to be with this team every single day.
“I thought we grew from Day 1 to now. I think about the young players and the rookies who got reps who maybe wouldn’t have gotten reps if our team was different. Overall, I’m happy we didn’t surrender or die. I’m happy that we played hard every single game.”
Sunday’s regular-season finale between a pair of WNBA draft lottery-bound teams was indicative of the Storm’s season.
With Loyd scoring 17 points in the first quarter, Seattle raced out to a 19-4 lead. The Storm went up 40-21 midway in the second and led 53-44 at halftime.
However, Los Angeles took control in the fourth quarter while outscoring Seattle 20-11. The Sparks held the Storm to 4-for-14 shooting and bottled up Loyd, who connected on one of six shots in the period.
Layisha Clarendon gave the Sparks their first lead since the opening minutes with a layup to go ahead 90-89 with 47.9 seconds left.
Still, the Storm had their chances.
On the ensuing possession, Loyd missed a midrange jumper and after Jasmine Thomas sank one of two free throws, Seattle trailed by two with 3.2 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, Quinn drew up a play for Magbegor who faked a handoff to Loyd before driving to the rim and pulling up for an uncontested eight-foot jumper that sailed short and hit the front of the rim as time expired.
“Usually, Ezi gets to the rim when we run that play for her,” Quinn said. “She kind of pulled up. I thought it was a good look.”
Magbegor tallied 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks while Kia Nurse poured in 18 points off the bench.
Nneka Ogwumike led the Sparks (17-23) with 22 points while Canada and Clarendon each added 14.
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