Skylar Diggins’ triple-double leads Storm previous Sun

Skylar Diggins tallied her first WNBA regular-season triple-double while leading the hot-shooting Seattle Storm to a 101-85 win over the Connecticut Sun on Monday in Uncasville, Conn.

Diggins, playing in her 318th WNBA game, had never logged a regular-season triple-double, although she posted the first triple-double in the history of the WNBA All-Star Game nine days earlier.

In just 23 minutes, Diggins logged 11 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. She led the Seattle offense in a red-hot performance, as the Storm pulled away with a 28-5 run in the third quarter that turned a 57-48 edge to an 85-53 advantage with 2:02 left in the quarter.

Diggins drained a pair of free throws late in the quarter to complete her triple-double, and then watched the final period from the bench.

A game after scoring just 58 points, the Storm nearly matched that total by halftime, establishing a 57-46 lead. The Storm fell a point short of their season scoring high, set in a 102-82 win over the Las Vegas Aces on May 25.

Seattle shot a season-best 60.9 percent (42-for-69) from the field, including 9-for-20 (45 percent) from 3-point range.

Aside from Diggins, Seattle (16-11) was led by Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams. Ogwumike scored 26 points on 11-for-13 shooting in 19 minutes of playing time, while Williams notched 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Rookie Dominique Malonga added 12 points and six boards, and Ezi Magbegor tallied 10 points in the easy win.

Connecticut (4-21) was coming off a season-high 95-point output against the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday but couldn’t keep up that pace. Bria Hartley paced the Sun with 17 points, though she shot just 4-for-12 from the field. Tina Charles added 11 points, and reserves Jacy Sheldon and Olivia Nelson-Ododa chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Sun took their fifth loss in six games, while the Storm continued a nine-game stretch of alternating wins and losses.

–Field Level Media