Jewell Loyd leads Storm past reeling Fever

Jewell Loyd scored a game-high 26 points Sunday as the Seattle Storm opened up a 44-19 first half lead, then held off a third quarter run by the Indiana Fever to notch an 85-62 win in Indianapolis.

Loyd also added eight assists for Seattle (6-19), which won its second straight game behind an impressive shooting display. The Storm canned 53.4 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 12 of 24 from the 3-point line, to make up for 17 turnovers.

Jordan Horston came off the bench to tally 15 points and Gabby Williams contributed 14 for Seattle, which outscored Indiana 30-13 in bench points and converted 17 turnovers into 21 points. The Storm racked up 23 assists off 31 made field goals.

Kelsey Mitchell scored 19 points for Indiana (6-19) and rookie Aliyah Boston added 14 but it wasn't enough to prevent the Fever from losing its third straight game. They have dropped 12 of their last 13 games.

Indiana shot poorly, sinking only 37.9 percent of their field goal attempts, and aside from a third quarter run where it got within six, was dominated in a matchup of the WNBA's two worst teams.

Seattle controlled the first half behind outstanding 3-point shooting. The Storm went 5 of 8 from the arc in the first quarter, including three by Sami Whitcomb. The last one capped an 11-0 run that helped the visitors grab a 24-17 lead.

The margin only increased in the second quarter as the Storm went up by 20 on Mercedes Russell's jumper with 3:54 remaining. Seattle pushed the advantage to 25 at one point before settling for a 47-27 cushion at halftime.

Indiana made a move in the third quarter, closing within 57-51 with 1:08 left when Mitchell drained a 3-pointer. But Loyd blunted the Fever's momentum in the last minute by converting a three-point play and then making two free throws that helped Seattle take a 62-51 advantage to the fourth period.