Breanna Stewart had 25 points and nine rebounds, Gabby Williams added 21 points and seven assists and the Seattle Storm set a WNBA record with 37 assists in a 111-100 victory over the Chicago Sky on Tuesday night at Wintrust Arena.
Seattle also set a franchise record for scoring in a half with 66 points in the first half, but the Storm led by just 11 after the Sky closed on a 13-4 run. The 121 combined first-half points were the most in a first half this season in the WNBA.
Despite the loss, Sky (25-9) remains in the driving seat to win the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, sitting 1½ games ahead of second-place Las Vegas Aces, who played later Tuesday. Seattle (21-13) jumped a game ahead of the Washington Mystics for the No. 4 spot, and the Storm held the home-field tiebreaker in the first round.
Courtney Vandersloot led the Sky with 28 points, shooting 10-for-15 from the field and 7-for-10 from the line, and added seven assists. Kahleah Copper scored 17 points, Candace Parker had 14 points and Azura Stevens added 12.
Seattle led by as many as 22 in the second half and reached the century mark with 4:50 remaining in the quarter.
Former Niles West star Jewell Loyd added 18 points for the Storm. Tina Charles had 14 points, Ezi Magbegor added 13 and Sue Bird had 10 points and eight assists.
Seattle made nine of its first 11 shots from the field and shot 76.2% in the first quarter to build a 38-26 lead. The Storm reached the 50-point mark with 5:56 remaining before halftime on a 3-pointer by Stephanie Talbot for a 17-point lead. Seattle finished the half going 28-for-42 (66.7%) with 24 assists.
Seattle was without head coach Noelle Quinn after she tested positive for COVID-19 and was under the league’s health and safety protocols.