By Laura Soukkavong –
SEATTLE — Zia Cooke scored 25 points and the Seattle Storm defeated the Connecticut Sun 77-59 on Friday night in the final meeting between the two franchises.
Flau’jae Johnson added 17 points and six rebounds for Seattle, which improved to 2-4 on the season. Jordan Horston and Natisha Hiedeman also helped Seattle erase an early deficit after Connecticut opened the game on an 8-0 run.
Diamond Miller led Connecticut with 13 points, three rebounds and two steals. Aaliyah Edwards finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and one block, while Aneesah Morrow added points and rebounds during another active performance off the bench.
Connecticut led 21-19 after the first quarter behind early scoring from Miller, Edwards and Gianna Kneepkens. Seattle responded in the second quarter as Johnson and Hiedeman helped the Storm take their first lead of the game.
Cooke scored five straight points late in the second quarter and Seattle closed the half on a strong run to take a 37-28 advantage into halftime.
Seattle extended the lead in the third quarter after Johnson opened the half with four quick points. Stephanie Dolson added five points during the period while Lexie Brown connected from 3-point range as the Storm pushed the lead to 50-35.
The Sun cut the deficit to 53-43 late in the third quarter after baskets from Saniya Rivers and Morrow, but Seattle pulled away in the fourth.
Morrow connected on a 3-pointer early in the final period to bring Connecticut within 10 points at 59-49 before Seattle answered with a 13-point run. Cooke added points at the free-throw line during the stretch while Horston converted a steal into a layup as the Storm built a 70-49 lead.
Connecticut dropped to 1-6 on the season and will continue its road trip Monday night against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco.