Storm top Mystics 89-76 in Game 1

Jewell Loyd made nine of 12 shots and scored 23 points, league MVP Breanna Stewart added 20 points, and the Seattle Storm beat the Washington Mystics 89-76 in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Friday night.

The first WNBA Finals game in Seattle in eight years was a dominant performance by the home team, led by the guard who watched most of the fourth quarter of Seattle’s Game 5 win over Phoenix in the semifinals.

Instead of sulking, Loyd became the leader of an efficient offensive performance from the top team in the league during the regular season. Loyd scored 10 straight points during the second quarter when Seattle took control thanks to a 16-4 run, and combined with Stewart to score 20 of Seattle’s first 22 points of the third quarter. Seattle led by as many as 27 in the third quarter and 26 early in the fourth quarter, rolling to the easy victory.

Seattle shot 53%, outscored Washington 46-28 in the paint and had 21 assists on 33 field goals. Sue Bird, the hero of Game 5, scored only four points, but her points weren’t needed on this night. Natasha Howard added 17 points making seven of eight shots. Game 2 is Sunday. Washington’s first Finals game in franchise history was mostly forgettable. Elena Delle Donne and Kristi Toliver both struggled shooting. Ariel Atkins led the Mystics with 23 points, but no other Washington player scored more than Natasha Cloud’s 11 points.

Still dealing with a bone bruise in her left knee that forced her to miss one game of the semifinals, Delle Donne was four for 11, finishing with 10 points and didn’t play the fourth quarter. Toliver scored only five points on two-for-11 shooting, continuing to be either really hot or very cold with her shot in the postseason.

The Atlanta Hawks have signed guard R.J. Hunter, bringing him back to the city where he was a college star at Georgia State playing for his father.