SAN ANTONIO – Danielle Adams scored 13 points in a reserve role to help the San Antonio Silver Stars beat the Seattle Storm, 80-67, on Saturday night.
With the Silver Stars coming off a three-point loss in Atlanta on Friday night, coach Dan Hughes challenged his reserves to step up — and they did. The San Antonio backups outscored their counterparts 41-30 in snapping a four-game skid against the Storm.
“Coach put a lot of pressure on us coming off the bench … because we didn’t play as much the night before,” San Antonio guard Shenise Johnson said. “He said you all need to come out and give us exactly what we need. I think everybody took it to heart and did a great job executing.”
Johnson scored 10 points and fellow rookie Ziomara Morrison added 12 off the bench. Sophia Young also had 12 points for San Antonio (3-4).
Shekinna Stricklen led Seattle (1-6) with 14 points. Camille Little and Tina Thompson each had 10.
With the starters resting, the Silver Stars led by 20 points twice in the second half.
Calling it the “best basketball game” his team has played this season, Hughes was able to rest his primary starters. Becky Hammon was limited to 23 minutes and Young 28 after playing 32 and 34 minutes, respectively, the night before.
“We always thought our bench could be a factor,” Hughes said. “To see some of the young ones get some confidence is kind of exciting.”
Johnson and Morrison did not play in the first quarter, but made an immediate impact after entering the game.
Johnson scored off an offensive rebound to give San Antonio a 25-10 lead 16 seconds into the second quarter. Morrison hit a 3-pointer 3 minutes later that gave the Silver Stars a 33-18 edge.
“Ziomara has just been getting better and better in practice,” Hughes said. “It’s one of those deals where we’re seeing it and you just want to see it come out on the court.”
Seattle rallied to start the second half, cutting San Antonio’s lead to 43-36 on a layup by Ann Wauters with 7:53 remaining in the third. The Silver Stars responded with an 8-2 run to maintain control of the game and hand the Storm its third straight loss.
“I’m not saying we’re going to make (a) wholesale change,” Seattle coach Brian Agler said, “but we’re going to really analyze how we’re doing things.”
Starting forward Shameka Christon provided an early spark for San Antonio, making her first three attempts in the opening five minutes of the game. Christon made her only 3-point attempt during the run, holding her follow through for a few seconds after giving the Silver Stars their first lead at 7-5.
“I was feeling good, I was feeling good,” Christon said. “It’s about time.”
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