Seattle Storm's struggling offense hits new low in loss to Wings
The frustrations from the growing pains were apparent when Flau'jae Johnson sat on the bench with a towel draped over her head in the final seconds of the Storm's third straight loss.
"I ain't going to lie, I don't like losing," she said. "I hate losing more than I love winning. But just kind of taking it for what it is and really learning and really like implementing it into the next game.
"We can't come and make the same mistakes and keep talking about we're going to do this and we're going to do that, but it don't change."
At the end of a two-game road trip and the start of the Commissioner's Cup race, it was more of the same for the Storm who once again failed to get the offense on track and lost 79-56 against the Dallas Wings on Monday night.
Since scoring a season-high 97 points a little more than a week ago, Seattle's offense has regressed in the past three outings, which not surprisingly has coincided with its losing streak.
"The ball was not going in the basket," Johnson said. "We're getting a lot of good attempts. We have to be more disciplined in finishing, but we got to put the ball in the basket."
The Storm, who entered the game ranked next to last in the WNBA in scoring at 78.7 points per game, have had several dreadful offensive outings this season, but this was worse.
In front of a sellout crowd of 6,251 at College Park Center, they shot 32.8% from the field and 21.1% (4 of 14) on three-pointers - both season lows - while tallying their fewest points since June 3, 2022.
"We've struggled to put the ball in the basket for the last couple games on the road here," coach Sonia Raman said. "We need to be better in that department. We have gotten a little stagnant, and I need to make sure that I'm helping them in that area with our advantage creation and maintaining that advantage and getting to their next action.
"I'll go back and look at the film and try to find things that I can kind of just continue to emphasize, but also just maybe simplify in certain areas. The last couple games we've gotten some really good looks. If we're going to shoot the way we did, the biggest takeaway for me is that I would have liked to have gotten to the glass a little bit more and tried to get more second-chance points ourselves."
The Wings also shot poorly and connected on 35.8% from the field and 20% (five of 25) on three-pointers. However, they outrebounded the Storm 48-36 and 18-6 on the offensive glass, which led to their 26-6 disparity in second-chance points.
Dallas' superior rebounding and Seattle's 17 turnovers resulted in 20 more shots for the Wings, who never trailed and outscored the Storm in every quarter.
Despite missing their first eight shots, Seattle kept things relatively close at the start and was down 16-10 after the first quarter.
The Storm, who trailed 36-25 at halftime, lost control in the third period when they fell behind 55-31. They never got closer than 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Johnson encapsulated the best and worst moments for the Storm.
The flamboyant rookie guard led them in scoring and rebounding while tallying 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for her first double-double performance.
However, Johnson also had more turnovers (five) than field goals (four) while shooting 30% from the field, including one of five three-pointers. After fouling out in the last minute, she was visibly frustrated on the bench.
"Whatever numbers she has or doesn't have, the main thing that matters to her is are we getting better and are we able to find ways to get into the W column," Raman said. "So, I love that about her and love her approach, and she'll just keep getting better."
Natisha Hiedeman, who was scoreless in the second half, added 11 points for the Storm, which fell to 3-7.
Aziaha James had a team-high 18 points while Paige Bueckers finished with 10 points, nine rebound and seven assists for the Wings (6-3), who won their third straight.
Meanwhile, the mounting losses are taking a toll on Johnson and a Storm team that's the fourth youngest in the WNBA with an average age of 25.
"I would much rather coach a locker room that's really upset after a loss, and (that has) a little bit of emotion," Raman said. "That frustration of losing, that's a result of players who really care (with) a high care factor and players who really want to impact winning, that's what Flau is about."
The Storm return home to host the Phoenix Mercury (2-7) on Wednesday.
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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 11:37 PM.