Jewell Loyd, Briana Stewart lead Storm to 87-82 win over Fever

SEATTLE -- Jewell Loyd scored 27 points, Breanna Stewart made several key plays down the stretch and the Seattle Storm turned back the Indiana Fever 87-82 on Sunday.

Stewart, who missed Seattle's season-opening loss in Los Angeles when Loyd scored 25 points, hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:38 to go after Indiana scored eight straight to take a 77-76 lead.

Before the key basket, Stewart grabbed an offensive rebound after Loyd missed two free throws. After two empty Indiana possessions, Stewart fed Crystal Langhorne for a layup to make it 81-77 with 35 seconds to play. Then Briann January, who had the first six points in Indiana's rally, had her shot blocked by Stewart. Seattle made six free throws in the final 22 seconds to secure the win.

Langhorne finished with 17 points and Stewart 15 for Seattle, ranked fifth in the AP preseason poll.

Shenise Johnson had 24 points and January 23 in the first game for the Fever, ranked seventh.

Indiana was 9 of 17 behind the arc but Seattle made 24 of 27 from the line for an 11-point advantage. The Storm had 21 turnovers, giving them 44 in two games as star point guard Sue Bird missed her second straight game with a knee issue.