Natisha Hiedeman tied her career high with 24 points and Awa Fam made her WNBA debut as the Seattle Storm beat the Washington Mystics 97-85 on Sunday.
Natisha Hiedeman tied her career high with 24 points and rookie Flau'jae Johnson scored a season-best 17 as the Seattle Storm beat the Washington Mystics 97-85 on Sunday at Climate Pledge Arena in a game that featured 75 total free throws, including 52 in the second half.
Hiedeman shot 7-of-12 from the field, made 4 of her 6 3-point attempts, and went a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line with 5 assists. Johnson made 4 of her 14 shots, including 2 of 7 from 3, but went 7-of-7 at the line. She also had 7 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal, and a block.
Stefanie Dolson scored 16 points on perfect shooting for the Storm (3-4). She went 3-of-3 from the field, 2-of-2 from 3, and 8-of-8 at the line, adding 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Zia Cooke added 10 off the bench, and Lexie Brown scored 7. Katie Lou Samuelson also added 3 in 18 minutes.
Awa Fam, the No. 3 overall draft pick, made her WNBA debut and finished with 10 points in 20 minutes. The 6-foot-4 center, who turns 20 on June 17, joined the Storm on Friday after helping Valencia win the Spanish League title. She scored her first WNBA points on a layup off a pick-and-roll with Johnson late in the second quarter. Fam shot 4-of-7 and went 2-of-2 at the free throw line.
Seattle made a season-high 13 3-pointers on 28 attempts and hit 32 of 34 shots from the line, a 94% clip.
The Mystics hit 35-of-41 from the foul line for 85% but shot just 20% (4-of-20) from beyond the arc.
Sonia Citron led the Mystics (2-3) with 16 points, going 10-of-11 at the free throw line. Kiki Iriafen, Georgia Amoore, and Angela Dugalic added 13 points apiece, and Shakira Austin had 12. Iriafen had 4 rebounds, Amoore added 6 assists, and Austin scored 12 with 4 rebounds. Dugalic shot 5-of-6 off the bench.
Hiedeman hit a 3-pointer that gave Seattle the lead for good early in the second quarter, and her long floater with 1.8 seconds left in the period made it 49-37. The Mystics trailed by double figures throughout the second half. Washington's biggest lead was 7, while Seattle's reached 26.
Dominique Malonga, who leads the Storm in scoring (16.0 points per game) and rebounds (7.3), missed her fourth consecutive game due to the concussion protocol. Ezi Magbegor (right foot) also remained out.
Seattle beat Connecticut 77-59 on Friday to snap a three-game skid. Sunday's win was the second straight for the Storm. The Mystics outscored Seattle 36-18 in the paint but were outshot from distance by a 13-4 margin.
The teams play again Wednesday in Seattle.
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