Jewell Loyd lights up Mercury in regular season finale

Seattle- In a most win situation to grab a first round bye, the Storm took care of business against the Phoenix Mercury 94-85.

Without Breanna Stewart on the floor, the Storm need another hero to be a factor and shut the door on two other teams grabbing the fourth seed. Seattle's call was answered, as Jewell Loyd played hungry and mad. Loyd could not miss in the first quarter and was hitting every shot that she attempted. She finished the quarter with 22 points and ended the game with a career high 37 points.

Those 37 points came out a critical time for the Storm, because for the last few games, Seattle' has struggled to find any type of rhythm offensively. Loyd stepped up when it mattered and her team responded. After it was all said and done, the Storm close out their season with a victory and will have a playoff-bye to get rested up. Nothing has been set in stone about the return of Stewart and the team is monitoring her day by day.

If the Storm do not get Stewart back, they will have to rely on their experienced guards in Sue Bird and Loyd. Both players have had some experience with putting the team on their back and will have to play longer minutes. It will be interesting to see if this Seattle team can somehow make a deep playoff push with some of their key players injured. For now, everything is all smiles and peachy with Seattle closing out their season with a win.