Seattle moves into 8th place in WNBA playoff standings

Sep 1, 2017, 12:16 am

SEATTLE -- Jewell Loyd scored 23 points, Breanna Stewart added 17 points and 12 rebounds and the Seattle Storm beat the Dallas Wings 78-66 on Wednesday night to move into eighth place in the WNBA playoff standings.

The Storm led by 15 in the first half but Dallas opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run, capped by Odyssey Sims' baseline jumper, to pull to 43-40. Plenette Pierson sank a 3-pointer to tie it at 52-all late in the third quarter.

Dallas outscored Seattle 24-13 in the third and pulled to 62-61 midway through the fourth. But Loyd hit a long jumper and after Aerial Powers missed a 3-pointer, Stewart made a bank shot to extend Seattle's lead to 70-63 with 2:46 remaining.

Sue Bird added 13 points and Crystal Langhorne had 12 points for Seattle (11-16), which is ranked eighth in the AP power poll.

Pierson scored 19 points and Skylar Diggins added 10 points for 11th-ranked Dallas (9-19). The Wings have lost nine straight games.