Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd left her team's 80-76 loss to the New York Liberty with a sprained left ankle in the fourth quarter and did not return. The Storm battled back down the stretch, but without their star they were ultimately not able to get it done against one of the league's best teams and have now lost five in a row.
"Right now it's a sprained ankle and it's too early to determine what the prognosis is," Storm coach Noelle Quinn said. "She was super positive. We were sitting down so I didn't see her walking but turning her ankle, I don't think it was as bad, but we'll see. Tomorrow morning we'll see how it feels.
With just over seven minutes to play, Loyd cut up towards the top of the key to receive a pass from Sami Whitcomb. As she caught the ball, she planted her left foot, which rolled over. Loyd immediately collapsed to the ground in serious pain and remained down as play continued around her. At the next dead ball, former teammate Breanna Stewart came over to check on her and Loyd was attended do by members of the Storm's medical staff.
Eventually, she was able to get to her feet and hobble to the locker room under her own power. After further evaluation, Loyd returned to the bench to sit with her teammates, but was ruled out for the remainder of the contest. Loyd had her worst outing of the season on Saturday, finishing with 14 points on 3-of-17 from the field, but this is still a significant loss for the Storm.
Loyd entered the day as the league's leading scorer at 25.6 points per game, which was on pace to be the highest single-season average in WNBA history. Her scoring average fell to 24.9 after this loss, but even that mark would be second only to Diana Taurasi's 25.3 points in the 2006 season.
Her play so far this season earned her an All-Star starter nod and the fifth overall selection of her career. During Saturday's All-star draft special she was selected to Team Breanna Stewart with the No. 4 pick and was slated to team up with her former Storm teammate next weekend in Las Vegas.
It remains unclear if Loyd will suit up in the All-Star Game, or how long she'll be sidelined. Even with her brilliance, the Storm sit in 11th place at 4-14. If she faces any sort of extended absence, things would only get worse in Seattle. Without Loyd on the floor this season, they are getting outscored by 25.2 points per 100 possessions, a staggering margin.
