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VANCOUVER — Officially, the Atlanta Dream were the home team Friday night as the WNBA played its first regular-season game outside the United States at Rogers Arena in front of nearly 16,000 fans.
It was the nearby Seattle Storm, playing 140 miles from where they hosted Atlanta on Wednesday at home, who rode the Vancouver crowd to an 80-78 victory that snapped the Storm’s six-game losing streak and ended the Dream’s six-game winning streak — both the longest active streaks in the league.
“It was an incredible crowd tonight,” Seattle guard Skylar Diggins said. “First time in Vancouver — they showed a lot of love. We just love coming out here, playing in front of this electric [crowd]. I know it was a Dream home game, but it felt like a Storm home game. We really leaned on them tonight to help us lock in that victory.”
“Felt like a home game for Seattle, honestly,” said Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, who scored 21 points. “For us to play in front of that many fans, it isn’t foreign to us, but for us to do it here, in this historic moment, it felt good.”
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The Storm dropped from five games over .500 two weeks ago to a game under entering Friday. A loss would have moved Seattle a half-game behind the Los Angeles Sparks for the eighth and final spot in the WNBA playoffs with less than a month left in the regular season.
The Dream opened the fourth quarter on a 16-2 run, erasing a Seattle lead that had grown to as many as 15 points late in the third period. Atlanta led by as many as five with 2:59 to play. That’s when the Vancouver crowd — filled with jerseys and shirts representing the Storm, the expansion WNBA Toronto Tempo and the NBA’s Grizzlies from before their move to Memphis — became a factor.
Diggins scored seven of Seattle’s 13 points in the fourth quarter, and center Ezi Magbegor was crucial defensively, recording all three of her blocked shots. The Storm made two stops in the final 20 seconds while clinging to a one-possession lead. Five of Seattle’s previous six losses were by four points or fewer.
“Big blocks by Ezi, big defensive stops by the group and just willed ourselves to this victory,” Storm coach Noelle Quinn said. “We’ve been in it like this the last couple of weeks, so it’s just kind of the same routine, persevering through each moment.”
As important as the outcome was for two teams battling for playoff positioning — Atlanta fell into a tie with the idle New York Liberty for second in the standings — the historic game expanded the WNBA’s reach.
“The atmosphere was great,” Dream center Brionna Jones said. “I think the fans were really into the game and enthusiastic, so it was great playing in front of this crowd and in this arena.”
This was Seattle’s second consecutive year playing in Canada. The Storm faced the Los Angeles Sparks in Edmonton last May in a preseason game.
“Edmonton came with it, too, last year, you know,” Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike said. “We’re grateful to be in this region. For us to be able to play the international games in Canada and for us to also be the first international game in regular-season play, it shows the growth of this league.”
Next year, regular-season games in Canada won’t be a novelty. The Tempo are set to join the WNBA as an expansion team in 2026.
During Friday’s game, Toronto team president Teresa Resch and general manager Monica Wright Rogers announced that the Tempo will play two regular-season games in Vancouver next season.
