Seattle Storm take down New York Liberty with dominant second half

The Storm beat the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty 79-70 on Sunday with a dominant performance that is sure to resonate around the league.

Hours after being announced as All-Star reserves, Gabby Williams (16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals) and Skylar Diggins (13 points, six assist, two steals and two blocks) led Seattle (12-7) to one of its biggest wins of the season.

Nneka Ogwumike, the Storm’s third All-Star, had 15 points and seven rebounds while Ezi Magbegor (14 points) was sensational early and Dominique Malonga (11 points) was equally spectacular near the end.

Trailing 44-41 at halftime, the Storm seized momentum while outscoring the Liberty 22-6 in the third quarter.

Seattle held New York to 11.1% shooting, including 2 for 18 on field goals and 0 for 6 on three-pointers in the period.

Diggins finished the quarter with a pass in the post to Malonga, who spun around a defender and banked a shot off the glass for a basket that beat the buzzer and a 63-50 lead.

Early in the fourth, Malonga scored six straight points, including a shorter floater that put Seattle up 71-52 with 8:06 left.

Sabrina Ionescu scored 20 points in the first half, but had just two after the break. Natasha Cloud added 12 points and Seattle held Breanna Stewart to eight points on 4-for-17 shooting.

The Liberty (12-6) shot 35.3% from the field while the Storm were 45.1%, including 5 of 17 on three-pointers.

Seattle wraps up its three-game road trip on Wednesday against the Connecticut Sun.