Led by Jordan Horston’s defense, Storm clip Wings for 2nd time in 3 days

Jordan Horston doesn’t get a night off and that’s just fine by her.

One night the second-year Storm forward is defending Connecticut Sun star DeWanna Bonner, then Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark the next.

Most recently, the Storm’s defensive stopper drew the unenviable task of slowing down Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale and held the WNBA’s second-leading scorer in check most of Monday night.

In fact, Seattle, which stymied Dallas on Saturday, clipped the Wings once again for a 95-71 victory and its fourth straight win.

It’s no coincidence the Storm’s winning streak began when coach Noelle Quinn moved Horston into the starting lineup for the first time this season.

In short order, the 6-foot-2 Horston has become indispensable in Seattle’s defense, which held Dallas to its second-fewest points of the year

“She’s able to take on certain matchups that we had difficulties with,” Quinn said. “Her ability to disrupt and not have to always bring multiple people, she’s a very good one-on-one defender and it helps our defense a ton.”

After a roller coaster rookie season, offseason shoulder surgery and a slow start this year while coming off the bench in the first 14 games, Horston is showing a glimpse of the potential that made her the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA draft.

In a star-studded lineup that includes four WNBA All-Stars, Horston is carving an identity as one of the league’s promising young defenders.

“I literally texted [Noelle] at the beginning of the year and I said: ‘I want to guard everybody’s best player,’” Horston said. “I meant that because I know I bring so much to the table defensively, especially when I’m locked in. And I love it.

“I literally love stopping whoever is in front of me, the best player. You’re not going to get what they want to get. I take pride in that. I’m happy that Noey trusts me and it’s allowing my game to flow when I’m loose and starting on the defensive end. It’s just fun. This is fun for me.”

It’s also fun for Jewell Loyd, who scored 34 and 32 points respectively in the previous two outings and needed just three quarters to tally 26 points on 8-for-14 shooting on Monday.

“We need her to score,” Quinn said. “We need her to be efficient. I think she’s in a great pocket right now playing confidently, playing freely and hopefully we can get some more 30-point games.”

It was also a short night for Nneka Ogwumike (14 points, five rebounds and four assists) and Ezi Magbegor (12 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks) who watched the fourth quarter on the sidelines.

The Storm (13-6) collected their eighth straight win at home in front of 7,202 at Climate Pledge Arena.

“Everyone wants to contribute and everyone wants to play, so we kind of look at it as if we do our job early to allow that to happen,” Loyd said. “It’s really good to see everyone have really good minutes and we want to have some rest here and there with our schedule being so crazy.

“This is a good team win for us for sure.”

Midway in the first quarter, Magbegor stepped in front of a pass intended for Teaira McCowan then bolted down court before finding Horston beneath the basket for a fast-break layup.

On the ensuing possession, Loyd collected a turnover in the paint and threw a long pass to a streaking Skylar Diggins-Smith for another layup that put the Storm up 14-13.

The lead changed five times in the first quarter and Dallas finished on top at 20-19.

However, Seattle began the second quarter with a 17-6 run to turn its deficit into a 36-26 lead following Loyd’s three-point play — a layup and free throw — with 3:50 left in the period.

The Storm, who led 45-37 at halftime, put the game away in the third quarter when they outscored the Wings 34-13.

“The message was ‘whose adjustment is going to be greater?’” Quinn said when asked about her halftime speech. “We talked about no two games are the same. The third quarter the previous game we put our foot on the gas and we (knew) that Dallas was going to be more aggressive to start the game. … I thought the team responded in a great way.”

Seattle led 79-50 to start the fourth period.

Ogunbowale, who finished with 21 points, had 11 points when the Storm starters retired to the bench and the reserves finished the game.

Natasha Howard added 15 points and Odyssey Sims had 12 for Dallas (4-15).

Seattle’s nine-game homestand resumes with a pair of games against the Chicago Sky on Friday and Sunday.

Note

• The WNBA All-Star Game rosters will be announced at 6 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN. The All-Star Game is July 20 in Phoenix.