Diggins-Smith, Magbegor lead Storm past Mercury
SEATTLE (AP) — Ezi Magbegor scored 13 of her 21 points in the first quarter, Skylar Diggins-Smith added 17 points and the Seattle Storm won their fifth straight game with an 80-62 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night.
On the day Seattle (6-3) announced a contract extension for Magbegor that will keep her with the team through the 2025 season, the forward from Australia sparked the Storm to a fast start. The 13 points in the first quarter were the most Magbegor has scored in any quarter of her career, as she hit her first six shots before a miss.
Jewell Loyd finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Seattle led by as many as 21 in the first half on its way to the easy victory.
Seattle rolled despite playing without starting forward Nneka Ogwumike, who was out with an eye injury. Ogwumike missed two games last month due to an ankle issue.
Kahleah Cooper led Phoenix (4-6) with 19 points, but the Mercury lost for the fifth time in six games. Phoenix snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Los Angeles on Sunday, but is 1-5 away from home to start the season.
Natasha Cloud added 10 points but no other Phoenix player scored in double figures.
Diana Taurasi, coming off a 31-point performance in the win over Los Angeles, had just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting. Taurasi also failed to make a 3-pointer for the second time this season despite entering the game with the most made 3s of any player in the league with 31. Taurasi missed all six of her attempts.
Phoenix led the WNBA in 3-pointers made, but finished just 4 of 23 from beyond the arc.
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