Storm overcome perimeter woes to earn much-needed win over Mystics

Presumably, Gabby Williams was boarding a plane in Paris bound for Seattle when the Storm were putting the finishing touches on an 81-77 hard-fought victory against the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night.

Earlier in the day, Seattle announced it resigned the versatile forward to help with a late-season playoff push that had been stymied by a couple of upset road losses coming out of the Olympic break.

Williams’ delayed return — she missed more than half of the season to train with the French women’s basketball team that won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics — marks the third time in the past three years the Storm have added a standout player midway in the season.

In 2022, Seattle picked up perennial All-Star forward Tina Charles after she completed a contract divorce with the Phoenix Suns. However, Charles started 10 of 18 games and never found her footing in a star-studded Storm lineup before Seattle lost in the WNBA semifinals.

Last year, Williams missed the first half of the season and appeared in just 10 games while averaging 8.4 points, 3.8 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals. Her second stint in Seattle was cut short after suffering a season-ending stress fracture in her left foot and the Storm missed the playoffs.

Still, Seattle felt the need to bring in reinforcements to potentially make up ground in the standings and establish themselves once again as a championship contender.

“The great thing about it is Gabby wants to be with us,” coach Noelle Quinn said. “She knows our system. She’s playing at a high level. She loves our organization, the players and the staff. There’s some familiarity that helps when you’re trying to incorporate her back. I’m going to be positive. No cons about bringing in a silver medalist.”

Williams, a defensive dynamo who nabbed WNBA all-defensive team honors for the first time in 2022, will certainly help the Storm’s slumping defense that’s allowed 57 and 54 points in the second halves of the previous two games.

Still, it remains to be seen if she can improve Seattle’s horrific perimeter offense that nearly cost them a much-needed win versus a struggling Washington team that entered the game with four straight losses.

Against the Mystics, the Storm converted just 3 of 23 3-pointers and was 0 for 7 from downtown in the second half.

At the start, Seattle erased a 5-0 deficit with 15 unanswered points to go up by 10. Washington closed to within 28-24 in the second quarter when the Storm went on a 16-6 run to go up 44-30 at halftime.

Seattle’s second-half defensive breakdowns were an issue once again, which allowed Washington score 47 points after the break and close the gap to 75-74 with 1:38 remaining.

That’s when Jewell Loyd, who finished with 16 points, saved the game with a steal and fast-break layup to extend the lead to 77-74.

Washington (6-22) never got closer the rest of the way.

Nneka Ogwumike led Seattle with 24 points and eight rebounds while Skylar Diggins-Smith added 17 points and Ezi Magbegor finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

The Storm return home and will reunite with Williams this week before Monday’s rematch against the Mystics at Climate Pledge Arena.

“She fits like a glove in my opinion because of her ability to do a lot of things at a high level,” Quinn said when asked about Williams. “The biggest thing is she knows us. There’s no discomfort in learning something extremely new. Yes, there are players that she has to adjust getting comfortable with and learning their cadence and their rhythm and play and flow. But with some practice time, I think it’s good to see and address those things. I just hope it works out.”