SEATTLE — On a day when the Seattle Storm and Connecticut Sun combined for three, three-pointers through three quarters, Skylar Diggins-Smith's long-range bomb late in the fourth felt like an early knockout.

However, there was still about three minutes left and Seattle has a history of falling short against Connecticut, which had won six straight games in the series dating back to 2021.

But the Storm's defense had never been better this season and for good measure, Jordan Horston, who got her first start of the season, banked in a three in the waning seconds to seal Seattle's 72-61 win on Sunday.

With Sue Bird, Betty Lennox and several members of the Storm's 25th Anniversary team sitting courtside at Climate Pledge Arena, the Storm (10-6) snapped a two-game skid and captured an impressive win against the Sun (13-3), which came into the game with the WNBA's best record.

"Connecticut this year is not shooting a lot of threes, but to keep them below 62, I think is a record," said coach Noelle Quinn, noting Connecticut scored its second-fewest points since 2019. "That is what I envision because we're capable not only in our one-on-one matchups, but our team defense.

"We have a lot defensive acumen that we can use as we're playing all types of defensive matchups."

Jewell Loyd rebounded from a one-point performance in her last outing and led Seattle with 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting, five rebounds and five assists.

Diggins-Smith had 13 points, four rebounds and eight assists while Nneka Ogwumike added 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Ezi Magbegor chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds and Horston had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Slow starts plagued the Storm in the previous two games, which resulted in losses. Once again, Seattle fell behind early and was down 14-8 after the first quarter.

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