It was a play nearly two decades in the making.

With 6.1 seconds remaining and the score knotted at 82, the Seattle Storm took a timeout. In the huddle, coach Noelle Quinn called a play for Skylar Diggins to take the last shot.

But as the guard walked onto the court, she told teammate Nneka Ogwumike that the Washington Mystics had been aggressively defending pick-and-rolls. If Ogwumike went early and slipped the screen instead, she’d be open.

That’s how it played out moments later in the Aug. 24 victory. Diggins found Ogwumike, who freed herself for a winning jumper from the free throw line.

It was the kind of play the longtime friends envisioned when they finally teamed up on the Storm in 2024 free agency. It was the kind of play they’d done together years earlier at USA Basketball camps.

“Very potent pick-and-roll since teenage years,” Diggins told ESPN.

Their pairing the past two seasons in Seattle has helped both players stay at an All-Star level in their mid-30s. But as the Storm face an elimination game Tuesday (9:30 p.m., ESPN2) against the Las Vegas Aces and former teammate Jewell Loyd in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, Diggins and Ogwumike are still looking to translate their partnership into the team success they expected.

“In the short time that we’ve been together, we’ve been through a lot,” Ogwumike told ESPN. “Going through those times of adversity, you end up leaning a lot on each other, and I’m just hoping that I can provide whatever support that is necessary for us to not just get through those times but to look forward to having more consistent wins and the way that we want to feel.”