Natisha Hiedeman’s 24 factors lead Storm over Mystics

Natisha Hiedeman matched a career-high with 24 points while rookie Awa Fam scored 10 in her WNBA debut as the host Seattle Storm rolled to a 97-85 victory over the Washington Mystics on Sunday.

Hiedeman shot 7 of 11 from the floor, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range for the Storm (3-4), who won their second straight.

Fresh off winning a Spanish League championship with Valencia, the 19-year-old Fam, the third overall pick of the 2026 draft, played nearly 20 minutes.

Flau’jae Johnson poured in 17 points, Stefanie Dolson chipped in 16 against her former team and Zia Cooke tallied 10.

Sonia Cintron led the Mystics (2-3) with 16 points. Georgia Amoore, Kiki Iriafen and reserve Angela Dugalic scored 13 apiece while Shakira Austin tallied 12.

Austin scored nine of her team’s first 14 points, including a 3-pointer and a couple of buckets in the paint that put the Mystics up 14-7 with 6:57 to play in the opening quarter.

Jordan Horston soon got the Storm back within one, pulling up for a deep 3-pointer to cut the Washington lead to 18-17 with 4:33 remaining.

Seattle closed the quarter on a 15-6 run, ending it on a 3-pointer by Heideman, who knocked it down over a defender to give the Storm a 26-24 lead.

With the game tied at 28-all early in the second, Heideman buried another 3-pointer as the Storm went ahead for good at the 8:03 mark.

Fam scored her first WNBA points in highlight fashion, driving into the lane for a layup with 1:28 to go, putting the Storm up 44-36 and igniting cheers from the home crowd.

Hiedeman put an exclamation point on the half with her fourth 3-pointer of the day as Seattle went into halftime with a 49-37 advantage, marking the most points scored by the Storm in a first half this year.

Seattle continued to dominate in the third, extending its lead to 60-42 with 7:51 left in the third on a 3-pointer from Johnson.

The Storm, who led 76-52 going to the fourth, will host the Mystics again Wednesday.

–Field Level Media