Liberty's Big 3 take control early to hand Storm 9th straight loss

Breanna Stewart scored a team-high 24 points and added eight rebounds and six assists as the host New York Liberty defeated the Seattle Storm 95-83 on Monday night.

Jonquel Jones scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Sabrina Ionescu put in 18 points with five assists as the Liberty (18-13) improved to 9-5 at home. The Liberty also got 12 points from rookies point guard Pauline Astier.

Stewart shot 8-of-12 inside the 3-point arc. Ionescu overcame a game-high five turnovers and shot 7-of-10 overall, including 4-of-6 from deep, as the Liberty shot 50% from the floor and made 14 3-pointers on 34 attempts.

New York, which has won five of its past six games, will host Seattle again on Wednesday night.

Flau'jae Johnson led Seattle with a game-high 25 points, and Natisha Hiedeman and Dominique Malonga each scored 17 points.

Seattle (6-26) has lost nine straight games. The Storm have the worst overall record in the WNBA as well as the worst road mark at 2-15.

New York, which never trailed, got the game's first two baskets -- both 3-pointers by Ionescu. The Liberty led by as many as 17 points in the opening minutes before settling for a 28-18 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Ionescu (11) and Jones (nine) were the top first-quarter scorers, combining to shoot 7-for-8, including five 3-pointers. New York went 11 for 17 from the floor (64.7%) in the frame.

Seattle battled back with a 9-2 run late in the second quarter, and, by halftime, the Storm cut their deficit to 50-43.

There were five double-figure scorers in the first half: Ionescu (15), Stewart (13) and Jones (11) for New York; and Hiedeman (15) and Johnson (10) for Seattle.

Late in the third quarter, Seattle put together a 6-0 run, cutting its deficit to within one score at 70-67. New York then finished the quarter on a 9-0 sprint, taking a 79-67 lead into the fourth. During that key Liberty run, Stewart had four points, Marine Johannes nailed a 3-pointer and Rebekah Gardner added a layup.

The Liberty pulled away in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 18 points.

--Field Level Media