Natisha Hiedeman, Flau’jae Johnson lead Seattle Storm past Washington Mystics

Natisha Hiedeman wore a satisfactory smile and waved to the Climate Pledge Arena crowd while backpedaling down court.

It’s unclear whether the pink-haired point guard was signaling hello or goodbye after draining a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left before the break to punctuate the highest scoring half this season for the Storm.

Whatever the meaning of the gesture, Hiedeman drew laughs and a huge ovation from fans who cheered her every move.

Earlier, she drained a step-back three in the waning seconds of the first quarter, which signaled she was on an all-time heater.

Hiedeman finished with a career-high tying 24 points on 7-for-11 shooting in 27½ minutes to lead the Storm to their second straight win — a 97-85 victory against the Washington Mystics on Sunday afternoon.

She was perfect on four three-point attempts and at the free-throw line where she made all six shots.

Flau’jae Johnson added 17 points and Zia Cooke chipped in 10 points in the first of two straight games against the Mystics. The rematch is Wednesday.

It was the second straight superlative performance from the Storm trio, who combined for (52) points after tallying 53 in their previous outing Friday night.

Center Stefanie Dolson added 14 points on a day when the Storm eclipsed their season-best scoring performance while shooting 44.1% from the field, including 13 of 28 on three-pointers.

The Storm also welcomed rookie center Awa Fam, who made her WNBA debut with 4:16 left in the first quarter when she checked in for the first time for a scoreless six-minute stretch that ended early in the second period.

She returned with 4:47 left before halftime and scored her first basket on a pick-and-roll with Johnson, who delivered a bounce pass between defenders that allowed Fam to convert for a contested layup with 1:29 remaining before the break.

Fam finished with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting in 20 minutes.

The Storm, which led 47-37 at halftime, outscored the Mystics 23-13 in the second quarter and 27-17 in the third period to go up 76-50.

Led by Sonia Citron (15 points), Georgia Amoore (13 points and six rebounds), Kiki Iriafen (13 points and four rebounds) and Shakira Austin (12 points), the Mystics (2-3) closed to within 94-82 when Dolson drained a crowd-pleasing three-pointer to seal the win.

This story will be updated.