Fever can't take advantage of cold Seattle shooting: 'A missed opportunity.'

For a few fleeting minutes Sunday, there was a window for the Indiana Fever to snap their eight-game losing streak. A superior opponent, the Seattle Storm, played down to Indiana’s level for almost the entire third quarter.

Indiana forward Queen Egbo scored the first six points of the period, and the Storm missed six of their first seven shots as a lead that had been as high as 16 points in the first half dropped to single digits.

But the Fever (5-22) couldn’t capitalize. Even as Seattle committed 12 turnovers and gave them chance after chance, Indiana gave the ball back and then some — finishing with 19 giveaways — and shot 4-of-24 from beyond the arc in the 81-65 loss, continuing the slide at the beginning of a three-game road trip out west.

At one point, the Storm (17-8) turned the ball over on consecutive possessions and allowed an offensive rebound. Indiana still ended the third quarter having only gained four points on Seattle.

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“I looked at it as a missed opportunity because I felt like we had some good cracks at it, some good looks that just didn’t go down,” interim coach Carlos Knox said.

Having escaped an ugly third quarter, the Storm outscored the Fever 26-17 in the fourth.

The WNBA’s leading scorer Breanna Stewart finished with 25 points and made four of Seattle’s six 3-pointers.

Egbo had 13 points and six rebounds in 16 minutes while dealing with foul trouble. She and forward Emma Cannon were the only Fever players to shoot higher than 50%. It was Egbo’s highest scoring game since returning from Health and Safety Protocols after the all-star break.

“Definitely after the first half I thought I needed to be more aggressive,” Egbo said. “And just my pace and the way I play, just looking for my teammates and just letting the game come to me. I had some open looks, so I just took them, and (let) my game come to myself, not trying to force anything or take any out-of-rhythm shots.”

Indiana’s usual scorers, Kelsey Mitchell and NaLyssa Smith, combined to shoot 8-of-23 from the field as Seattle mixed up its looks defensively: the Storm started the game man-to-man, then switched to zone late in the first quarter. Sometimes they doubled Mitchell on ball screens.

Before the game, Knox confirmed that newly-signed guard Rennia Davis would be available for the game, but wasn’t sure if she would play. As it turned out, fouls would force Davis onto the court, whether Knox planned to use her or not. Starters Mitchell, Smith and Egbo all had three fouls by halftime, clearing the way for minutes for Davis and Khayla Pointer, who entered the game having played 26 minutes all year.

“That was definitely a result of our foul trouble,” Knox said. “I think that hurt us. It kind of slowed down our momentum from the jump, but we had to really understand what it takes to guard at this level without fouling.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: WNBA: Indiana Fever drop ninth straight game to Seattle Storm