Washington Mystics Hand Seattle Storm a Lesson in Physicality

Photo by: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

By Matthew | Robi Report | May 27, 2026

Three days earlier, the Seattle Storm had rolled through the Washington Mystics 97-85, holding them to their second consecutive loss and making the result look almost routine. On Wednesday night at Climate Pledge Arena, Washington made sure the Storm remembered that scorelines don't always reflect the full picture.

The Mystics won the rematch 78-64, and it wasn't particularly close for most of the night.

Washington came in with something to prove. At 2-3 entering the game, the Mystics were an organization that most around the league recognized as more talented than their record suggested. Wednesday night was an opportunity to establish that — and they did, jumping out to a 28-20 first quarter lead and never relinquishing control. Michaela Onyenwere, returning from a knee injury that limited her early season availability, scored eight points during a 12-2 opening run that set the tone before Seattle had time to settle in.

The Storm never recovered.

"That first quarter was probably the biggest culprit right there," head coach Sonia Raman said after the game. "Just the urgency that we came out with and our focus on both ends of the ball — I think that's what set the stage and from there we were kind of trying to climb."

Seattle shot 35 percent from the field and a brutal 22 percent from three-point range — a dramatic regression from the offensive performance that fueled Sunday's blowout win. Raman acknowledged the shooting numbers while noting that the Storm generated quality looks that simply didn't fall. "A few of those go down and I think we'd feel a little bit better about it," she said. But shooting variance alone doesn't fully explain what happened in Seattle on Wednesday night.

Washington out-rebounded the Storm 40-31 and imposed a physicality that disrupted Seattle's rhythm on both ends of the floor. More concerning than the shooting numbers was the way the Storm allowed offensive struggles to infect their defensive effort — a tendency that cannot become a pattern if this team has legitimate aspirations.

Jade Melbourne was the one consistent bright spot for Seattle, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Her efficiency stood in stark contrast to the rest of the starting lineup. Flau'jae Johnson continued her early season shooting struggles, going 3-of-13 from the field and 0-of-4 from three for eight points. Natisha Hiedeman shot 2-of-9. Stefanie Dolson finished with zero points and a team-worst minus-20 plus/minus in 20 minutes.

The Storm's frontcourt situation adds necessary context. Dominique Malonga missed her fifth consecutive game in concussion protocol, and Ezi Magbegor sat out with a right foot injury. Losing two of your most important frontcourt players simultaneously against a physical Washington team that features Shakira Austin — who finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and five assists — was always going to create problems on the glass.

But although injuries explain some of what happened Wednesday. They don't explain the first quarter, and they don't explain a defensive effort that Raman herself identified as falling short of the standard she expects.

Awa Fam, making her second WNBA appearance, finished with six points and five rebounds in 17 minutes. The box score was modest, but her four offensive rebounds were a quiet indicator of the motor and effort that defined her debut against this same Washington team five days ago.

When asked how much of Wednesday's loss is going to be about moving on quickly and letting it go, Raman pushed back without hesitation.

"We won't turn the page. We're never going to turn the page on any game," she said. "We wanna make sure that win or lose we learn and we grow. We'll go back, we'll watch film and we'll process it and make the adjustments that we need to make."

At 3-5, the Storm are at a crossroads that is partly injury-driven and partly self-inflicted. The talent is clearly present — Sunday's 97-85 demolition of this same Washington team confirmed that. But Wednesday revealed questions about consistency, physicality and defensive focus that film sessions alone won't fully answer.

The Mystics got their revenge. Now Seattle has to decide what they're going to do about it.

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