Storm Douse Sparks 95-79
Nneka Ogwumike scored 26 points against her former team.
(Seattle, WA) - The Seattle Storm (8-4) responded well after their loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday. They came home and took care of business against the Los Angeles Sparks (4-8) by a final score of 95-79. LA played Seattle tough throughout the game and kept themselves within striking distance but the Sparks were never in control of the game. Seattle led by six at halftime and by five heading into the fourth quarter. Whenever one team would make a run the other would respond. It was a five-point game with four minutes left to play. Seattle got some huge shots from Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith that helped put the game out of reach.
This was the first regular season game Nneka Ogwumike had played against her former team, the Los Angeles Sparks. Ogwumike played her entire 12-year WNBA career in LA before signing with the Storm this past off-season. While Ogwumike downplayed any revenge factor, she was just happy to get the win and have a strong performance. Ogwumike finished the game with a game-high 26 points on 11-15 FG shooting and eight rebounds.
“I actually think that this game was, it was impactful because of the last game. You know, I think it just so happened to be L.A. I'm just kind of someone who, I show up and I play the game. I respect the game. I mean, you can even ask Chiney, like when she first came to the league and she was like, ‘Oh, sis’. I was like, no, no… we're playing basketball like you can't big sis me right now. That's just kind of how I'm really good at staying focused but you know it just happened to be a good one. I think I want to play like that every night and my teammates give me that confidence. I just really want us to have that G mentality.” Ogwumike said.
Jewell Loyd praised her new teammates’ performance.
“She’s ‘Big Shot Nneka’. She always comes up with big plays, big stops, you know, big blocks. But there's even just her presence of making someone feel, coming off the ball screen, just the pressure. And so we know, I know what she's capable of doing. And honestly, this is light work. This is… I feel like the shots are so efficient. It's easy. Well, she makes it look easy and effortless. But it's all the preparation that goes into it. And she puts a lot of work into her body, into her game. And to see her just go out there and flourish is awesome. And so, yeah, I knew right away when the ball got to the corner, I'm like, ‘that's money’.” Loyd replied.
Seattle’s backcourt was strong as Jewell Loyd scored 21 points and added six rebounds. Skylar Diggins-Smith contributed with 19 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Sami Whitcomb found her three-point shot and made three of them in this game.
The home team outshot LA 47% (37-79 FG) compared to 39% (27-69 FG). Seattle was also better from beyond the arc but that stat is a bit misleading. Four of the team’s eight three-pointers came with less than three minutes to go in the game. They went 4-4 during that span to create separation. Before that, the Storm had made just 4-18 FG from beyond the arc.
Once again, Seattle dominated inside the paint. They scored 50 points in the paint and outscored LA by eight in that category. They also out-rebounded Los Angeles 45-33. They held a 13-10 edge in offensive rebounds and a 21-15 advantage in second-chance points. The Storm did a better job in this game of getting out in transition and outscored the Sparks 14-6 in fast break points.
Los Angeles Sparks
This was an interesting game for LA. They were very competitive throughout almost the entire game. There were a few spurts here and there where Seattle would go up seven or nine points but the Sparks always rallied. They never let the Storm’s lead balloon to 20+ points. However, the strong play didn’t come from LA’s starters.