SEATTLE — Down 18 after one quarter and by as many as 21 early in the second period, the Seattle Storm rallied to stun the Los Angeles Sparks 66-63 for their first win Tuesday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
The Storm (1-4), who started the season 0-4, overcame the second-largest deficit after the first quarter since 2006, when the league went to four quarters instead of two halves. It’s also the first time a team has overcome a deficit of 21 or more points to earn its first win, outside of season openers, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
“Never was a moment when I felt we were out of it,” said Storm head coach Noelle Quinn, adding that she felt her team’s slow start was due to uncharacteristic mistakes.
“Honestly, I felt it was just our energy. We began the game losing Lexie Brown and Lexie Brown got a 3. It was just focus and energy and we haven’t had to coach that, so I wasn’t ever worried about schematically. I always felt that we will stay together and we will fight and continue to work hard and flip that switch.”
Seattle guard Jewell Loyd, who led all…
