With WNBA at halfway point, Liberty still only have a single win

In a battle between the teams with the best and worst records in the WNBA, the Seattle Storm did what was expected of them and destroyed the New York Liberty, 105-64, at the WNBA “wubble” in Bradenton. For the Liberty, it was the worst loss in a season that’s produced only one will in 11 games, half the WNBA season.

Playing again without overall No. 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu (sprained ankle), Joe Tsai’s team fell behind early to the 11-1 Storm who are led by the legendary Sue Bird and former MVP Breanna Stewart, neither of whom played last season. They’re making up for it now. Seattle, which shot 53.2 percent from the field, has outscored its last five opponents 472-335. It was their ninth straight win.

Seattle went up early and never looked back. The Liberty were outscored by nine in the first quarter, then were down 61-28 at the half. It was such a rout that the Storm rested its stars in the second half. Bird scored all her points in the opening 20 minutes, finishing with 10 points and seven assists for Seattle. Natasha Howard grabbed all 11 of her rebounds in the first half. She also had 12 points.

Overall, the Storm had six players in double figures and were led by former New York City star Epiphanny Prince who scored 16 points, making four of Seattle’s 13 3-pointers. Stewart, Jewell Loyd and Sami Whitcomb each scored 14 points.

For the Liberty, Kia Nurse scored 21 points for New York, which has lost five straight. Rookie Jazmine Jones and Amanda Zahui B added 10 points each. The Liberty play again Thursday vs. the Chicago Sky.

• Game Report: Seattle Storm 105, New York Liberty 64 (with Video) - WNBA.com
• Too easy: Storm clobbers Liberty, improves to 11-1 - Percy Allen - Seattle Times