Storm Hang On to Beat LA 90-87

Seattle sweeps Los Angeles 4-0 this season.

(Seattle, WA) - Without Jewell Loyd or Ezi Magbegor, the Seattle Storm came together as a team to get this win. Seattle got off to a hot start outscoring the Sparks 24-15 through the first 10 minutes. The Storm led by 14 points at the midway point. Despite a rally from LA in the second half, Seattle did just enough to outlast the Los Angeles Sparks 90-87. The Storm swept the season series 4-0. It was the first time they had swept the Sparks since 2015. Seattle improved their record 24-14 but remain in 5th place as the Las Vegas Aces (25-13) beat the Connecticut Sun (27-11) by a final score of 84-71. Las Vegas will play in Seattle on Tuesday and it’ll almost certainly be a preview of the 4/5 matchup when the WNBA playoffs start later this month.

Seattle trailed by one point with less than a minute to play in this game. They were able to execute down the stretch to get the points and defensive stops they needed to walk away with the win. Coach Noelle Quinn talked about closing the game out and getting that experience.

“They were pivotal for us, not just for the win, but for this group, because we have not had a ton of reps in these moments and these scenarios, no matter who the team is. You can't replicate these things in practice. And so for even Tori (Vivians) to be on the floor in that moment just shows our players staying locked in and ready. That unit that was the rest of the team, Sky, Gab, Jordan, and Nneka, I believe. We went a little bit small because they were small. I thought there was a grip to that group and a communication level and the physicality of that group and a will to want to get those stops.” Quinn stated.

Gabby Williams talked about the importance of executing late and getting the win.

“Very important, because we needed to win the game. I mean, in this league, those are the games and those are the actions that kind of set the standings. Everyone is a great team. Everyone in this league is a great player. So you're not going to blow out anyone. It's always going to come down to possessions like that, most of the time. So I think the fact that we're getting a lot of practice in these situations is actually going to be good for us. And I think it shows a lot, the fact that we're able to get those kinds of stops at the end.” Williams added.

The Storm had four players score in double figures. Nneka Ogwumike led the way with 23 points on 10-16 FG shooting and a team-high seven rebounds. Gabby Williams continued her strong play scoring 22 points on 60% field goal shooting. She finished with six rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Skylar Diggins-Smith added 19 points and a team-high six assists. Diggins-Smith was also a perfect 10-10 from the FT line. Jordan Horston rounded out the group scoring 16 points on 70% (7-10 FG) shooting. Both Horston and Williams stepped up big with Jewell and Ezi out.

Seattle outshot Los Angeles by a small margin. They made 47% (33-71 FG) compared to 45% (33-73 FG) for LA. They were also slightly better from beyond the arc as Seattle converted 23% (5-22 FG) from three-point range and LA made 19% (3-16 FG) from deep. Both teams were excellent from the free throw line. Seattle made 86% (19-22 FT) and Los Angeles made 90% (18-20 FT). Seattle’s bench outscored LA’s reserves 21-10. Most of that came from Horston’s effort.

Los Angeles Sparks

Dearica Hamby had an excellent game for the Sparks. She led all scorers with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Hamby was energetic as ever scoring most of her points down low. She played a huge role in the Sparks outscoring the Storm 58-48 with the points in the paint.

Rickea Jackson continues to look like one of the best rookies in the WNBA this season. The 4th overall pick scored 22 points on 7-16 FG. Odyssey Sims was able to get downhill and to the rim time and time again. Sims finished with 20 points and a team-high five assists.

The Sparks out-rebounded Seattle 36-32. They also had a slight edge in second-chance points 18-14. LA also doubled Seattle in fast break points 14-7.

Los Angeles used a 10-1 run in the 4th quarter while both Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith were on the bench to cut Seattle’s 11-point lead down to two before Coach Quinn could get them back into the game. I spoke with both Coach Quinn and Gabby Williams about what happened during that span.

“They ratcheted up their defense. So a lot of traps, a lot of hard hedges, and we were on our heels in that quarter. I think a lot of turnovers, our turnovers were very high. They got a lot of leakouts matching up, a little bit of miscues defensively. I think it kind of started what we were doing on the offensive end. We weren’t sharp executing and kind of just giving them some pick sixes.” Quinn told me.

“Mental lapses. I mean, we were shooting ourselves in the foot. We were making some mistakes, and instead of just moving on to the next play, we were kind of dwelling on those errors. So I think we needed just a moment to breathe and just like kind of meld in. It helped, of course, Nneka with fouls was on the bench, but as soon as she came in, she got a big bucket. And I think that got us going again. But just kind of having that serenity, that was kind of missing when they went on that run.” Williams answered.

Game Breakdown

Nneka Ogwumike scored the game’s first basket on a turnaround jumper inside the paint. Odyssey Sims responded with a scoop layup on the other end. Dearica Hamby then scored with a strong drive to the rim. Mercedes Russell tied the game with a high-arching shot. The Storm took the lead on a smooth pull-up jumper from Gabby Williams. Skylar Diggins-Smith then rattled in a deep two as Seattle led 8-4 through the first few minutes.

Rickea Jackson got her own offensive rebound and finished on her second shot attempt. Diggins-Smith weaved her way through the defense for two. Rae Burrell was fouled on a drive to the rim and made both free throws. Nneka Ogwumike responded with a three-pointer to put Seattle up five.

Jordan Horston made an incredibly athletic play where she tipped a missed shot back in while in mid-air and was fouled. Horston made the free throw to complete the three-point play. Immediately after that, Gabby Williams stole the ball on the inbounds pass and scored at the rim.

Li Yueru scored with a Eurostep down low. Diggins-Smith drew a foul driving to the basket and made both free throws. Joyner Holmes was fouled on her jump shot and made both of her free throws. Rickea Jackson connected on a three-point attempt to cut the Storm’s lead down to nine. Mercedes and Yueru swapped baskets at each end to close out the first 10 minutes of the game. The Storm led 24-15 at the end of the first period. Skylar Diggins-Smith led Seattle with six points.

Sims got to the rim for two. Jordan Horston got a steal and made a layup. Nneka Ogwumike used a beautiful spin move to lay the ball in with her off hand. Sims scored again with dribble penetration. Horston found Gabby in the corner for a three. Sims got inside again for two more.

Nneka made another layup. Azurá Stevens was fouled and made both of her free throws. Zia Cooke got past the defense for two. Gabby scored with a slick dribble step back. Stevens scored again for LA but was whistled for a delay of game violation for slapping the ball away. It was the Sparks’ second violation so Skylar was given a technical free throw that she made. SDS found Horston cutting to the rim for two. Seattle’s defense then swarmed the Sparks and got a steal. That led to a transition score for Victoria Vivians. That put the Storm up 13 at 40-27 and forced LA’s Coach Curt Miller to call another timeout.

Dearica Hamby scored after LA got an offensive rebound. Nneka Ogwumike responded with a jumper in the lane. The Sparks scored again after gathering another offensive rebound, this time a three-pointer from Hamby. Rickea Jackson got the mismatch down low against Skylar and scored. Nneka Ogwumike scored again through contact for an AND1. Azurá Stevens scored in transition after a Seattle turnover. Gabby scored again on a dribble pull-up a couple of plays later. Hamby converted two on a broken play. Skylar used dribble penetration to get to the rim with just a few seconds left in the first half. Seattle led 52-38 at the midway point.

Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby exchanged baskets to begin the third quarter. LA got a steal and Rickea Jackson scored on a reverse layup. Skylar connected with a three-pointer. Hamby scored again down low. Williams made a corner three for Seattle. Hamby converted the AND1 opportunity. Gabby collected an offensive rebound and laid it back in.

Ogwumike scored down low and was fouled. Her three-point play put the Storm up 15 at 65-50. Los Angeles added points at the foul line by Jackson and Burrell. Dearica Hamby converted another layup. Seattle called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Nneka missed her shot and Hamby scored again to cut Seattle’s lead to single digits at 67-58.

Seattle responded with baskets from Nneka and Jordan Horston. Odyssey Sims ran Sami Whitcomb over and finished at the rim. Rickea Jackson was fouled and made both free throws. Jackson then hit a triple from the corner to cut Seattle’s lead down to six. Jordan Horston scored on Seattle’s final possession of the quarter with a nice pump fake and dribble pull-up. The Storm led 73-65 entering the final frame.

Horston scored again to start the fourth quarter. Joyner Holmes then had a big block on defense and went all the way down the court to score but was fouled. Holmes split the pair of free throws. Skylar turned the ball over and Kia Nurse scored in transition. Diggins-Smith turned it over again against a trap and Odyssey Sims finished the fast-break layup. That cut Seattle’s lead down to seven at 76-69 and forced Coach Quinn to call a timeout.

Mercedes Russell split a pair of free throws. Sims was fouled on the other end and made both of her free throws. Hamby scored another layup. Sami turned the ball over and Kia Nurse finished at the rim to cut Seattle’s lead down to two at 77-75. The Sparks used a 10-1 run with most of Seattle’s starters on the bench.

Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith finally checked back into the game and Ogwumike scored right away. Jackson scored again in transition for LA. The Sparks took the lead 81-79 on back-to-back baskets by Odyssey Sims. Jordan Horston hit a three-ball but her fellow Tennessee teammate Rickea Jackson countered to put LA back on top by one.

Skylar caused a car pile-up near midcourt and it resulted in Gabby Williams getting fouled. Gabby made both free throws. Diggins-Smith forced another turnover and was immediately fouled. She made both free throws. Those defensive possessions were huge for Seattle.

LA responded with their own 4-0 run with points from Sims and Hamby. Diggins-Smith was able to draw a foul on Seattle’s end and made both free throws. The Sparks had a chance to win the game with less than 22 seconds to play. Sims missed her contested layup. Rae Burrell grabbed the offensive rebound but Skylar harrassed her and stole the ball as Burrell tried to pass the ball to a teammate. Diggins-Smith was fouled with three seconds left in the game and made both of her free throws.

Rickea Jackson took a contested three to send the game to overtime but she missed. The Storm won 90-87.

Final Box Score

Additional Analysis

Another Playoff Update

Minnesota beat the New York Liberty 88-79. That keeps the Lynx still in play for the #1 overall seed. Minnesota owns the tiebreaker against New York and is two games behind them in the standings. If the Lynx are going to get the #1 seed they will need to beat Connecticut and Los Angeles and hope that New York loses to both the Washington Mystics and Atlanta Dream. That isn’t too likely but it’s still possible. If New York (31-7) wins one more game, they clinch the #1 overall seed.

That means that Minnesota (29-9) can still earn the top seed, the two seed, or the three seed. Connecticut owns the tiebreaker over the Lynx but is also two games behind them in the standings with two games to play. One of those games is against one another which means things are a bit easier to figure out. If the Lynx beat the Sun on Tuesday in Connecticut, they will finish no worse than the 2nd seed.

Meanwhile, the Sun (27-11) can finish 2nd, 3rd, or 4th still with just two games left to play. They own the tiebreaker over the Minnesota Lynx but are currently two games behind them. They are two games ahead of Las Vegas but the Aces own the tiebreaker against Connecticut. If those two teams finish with the same record, then Las Vegas will move up to the third seed. That would require the Connecticut Sun to lose to both Minnesota and Chicago. Both of those games take place in Connecticut.

The Aces (25-13) can finish 3rd, 4th, or 5th. Las Vegas plays at Seattle and home against the Dallas Wings this upcoming week. If they beat Seattle on Tuesday, they will lock up home-court advantage in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs. They can only drop to the 5th seed if they lose to both Seattle and Dallas. And the Storm would also need to beat the Mercury in Phoenix. Las Vegas is most likely going to end up as the 4th seed and host the Storm in the first round.

The Storm (24-14) can finish 4th or 5th. Because Connecticut won against Phoenix on Friday, the Storm can no longer catch the Sun despite owning the tiebreaker against them. Seattle has a 4.5-game lead on the Indiana Fever and they are not in danger of falling to the 6th seed. If Seattle beats Las Vegas on Tuesday, they will need to beat the Mercury on Thursday and hope that Dallas can play spoiler and upset the Aces in Las Vegas. If all of those things happen, the Storm will host Las Vegas as the 4th seed.

The Indiana Fever (20-19) are locked into the 6th overall seed because they won the season series against the Phoenix Mercury. And the most wins Phoenix can finish the season with is also 20. Indiana knows they will be the 6th seed but they don’t know who they’re going to play. It can be Connecticut, Minnesota, or Las Vegas as explained above.

Phoenix (18-20) is locked into the 7th seed. The Mercury can face the Liberty, Lynx, or Sun in the playoffs. It all depends on what happens over the final week of the season.

Right now we don’t know who will earn the 8th and final playoff spot. It’s the only playoff spot that hasn’t been clinched. Three teams are vying for that final playoff spot. The Washington Mystics (13-25) currently sit in that spot thanks to their strong play as of late. Despite losing in overtime against Atlanta on Sunday by a final score of 76-73, the Mystics have won seven out of their last 10 games. Washington hosts the New York Liberty on Tuesday and then hosts the Indiana Fever on Thursday. Indiana might not have anything to play for so Washington might be able to pick up a win there if the Fever decide to rest players like Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston.

The Chicago Sky (13-25) have been collapsing in the 2nd half of the season. They traded away Marina Mabrey just before the Olympic break and the team has lost eight out of their last 10 games. Those struggles will likely continue as Rookie of the Year contender, Angel Reese, injured her wrist and has been shut down for the rest of the season. Chicago plays at Atlanta on Tuesday and at Connecticut on Thursday. They’ll need to win at least one of those two games to earn a playoff spot.

Lastly, the Atlanta Dream (13-25) have also struggled significantly this season. They’ve dealt with some injuries but they are losing even when healthy. Despite an important win over Washington on Sunday, they just lost to Washington on Friday. And the Dream have lost seven out of their last 10 games. The Dream host Chicago on Tuesday. The winner of that game may earn that final playoff spot. Atlanta finishes their season at New York. They could luck out and play against a Liberty team that rests some of their starters with (potentially) nothing to play for. But that isn’t a guarantee that will happen.

Gabby gaining confidence

Gabby Williams has been getting better and better. She has scored in double figures in five out of Seattle’s last six games. Gabby had a slow start getting adjusted to rejoining the team after her incredible performance in the Paris Olympics with the French National Team. In her first four games, Williams didn’t score more than seven points in any game, and in three of those games, she scored four points or less. Since then she’s put up 11, 17, 6, 17, 10, and 22 points. The 22 points on Sunday against Los Angeles was a season-high and just four points off of her career-high.

Gabby Williams is currently averaging a career-high 10.0 PPG and she is also shooting a career-high 49.4%. Gabby is converting on nearly 60% of her two-point field goal attempts. And even her three-point shooting has been solid at 27%. That ranks second-best of her entire career. You can see it in her shooting. She looks confident whether she’s taking shots from beyond the arc or pull-up midrange jumpers. And she still excels at finishing at the rim with her elite athleticism.

I spoke with Gabby about building that confidence in her game.

“I think it's just me being more comfortable in Seattle. It's hard being in and out and coming late and everything. But now that I've been here for a couple of years, I feel like I know what my role is, and where I can have my opportunities. Like I was saying after the last game, like some games, maybe I'm going to be more of a facilitator. In other games, maybe they need me to score more. So I think I've been able to find my – my cadence with that and my rhythm. Also, everyone here has just so much confidence in me and everyone's always in my head about just keep shooting and keep going. And that helps so much.” Gabby told me.

Coach Quinn also spoke about the growth she’s seen with Gabby.

“I think you're seeing a player who works tremendously hard on her craft. this entire year and what she did in the Olympics there's no… you can't shortcut, cheat the game and she doesn't do that. If you actually have followed her throughout her career she has this, she's had it. It's just a matter of finding comfort and confidence and consistency you know with her role wherever that was. She has it. But now you're just seeing it on a bigger stage around different players in a different role a little bit. But what she's done from even the last part of the year with us last year, she just gave us a boost. Offensively, she's able to get downhill, but adding the three is definitely a bonus. But that's a player who works so hard on her game and wants to be a great teammate and really wants to do the correct things, the right things in order to win basketball games.” Quinn replied.

“Gabby is the French Army knife and has been that. We're relying on her to do a lot, defensively, offensively, initiating offense. I have been encouraging her to just be very aggressive, especially in transition and plays in which she could get downhill and get to the rim because she's so athletically gifted, but also she makes great decisions. Now you see her mid-range. Now you see her confidence in her three. You're seeing an amazing player in a pocket of confidence trying her best to will us to where we understand our goal is. And she's been so valuable for us. It's an honor for me to coach her. I'm glad she chose us. I will forever rock with Gabby.” Quinn later added.

Playing without Jewell and Ezi

It was a challenge to play without two starters on Sunday afternoon. Seattle was missing their leading scorer and their best defensive player. And yet, at times the team looked better than ever. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that both Gabby Williams and Jordan Horston stepped up big in their absence. And also that Seattle was playing the Los Angeles Sparks, the team with the worst record in the WNBA (7-31).

The movement on offense looked really good in the first half. They ran the offense more through Nneka Ogwumike and down in the low post. Nneka led the team in shot attempts with 16. She was very efficient (63%) making several of her shots at the rim or inside the paint.

When the ball wasn’t going inside to Nneka, it was either Gabby Williams or Skylar Diggins-Smith taking their opportunities on offense. Gabby had her midrange shot going. Skylar was a little less efficient with her shooting but got to the free throw line more than any other player on either team.

Coach Quinn was asked if there was a benefit to playing without Jewell and Ezi in this game.

“I wouldn't say a benefit, but it is good to see. Some of the minutes that some of the players got today. They probably wouldn't have gotten them because of the elite athletes that were missing. And so even for Nika to come in early and get some bump. It's a morale thing, it's a confidence thing, but also everyone is a pro and the expectation is to stay ready and be ready when their numbers are called. And yeah, it was good to see what we can do with two key pieces missing, but I don't wanna play without those two.” Quinn answered.

After the game, I spoke with Coach Quinn about the adjustments the team had to make without Jewell being available.

“I don't think there were necessarily offensive adjustments. I'm a little bit more mindful of trying to get the ball into Nneka because of the mismatch, but just a concerted effort to read the basketball game, find some flow about us, and get some pace about us early in the game. A lot of what we did offensively was sparked from our defense. But we talked. We saw some clips before the game offensively, just getting into flow, early drags, getting to second sides, and just being confident, getting downhill. And a lot of those possessions were good to great, paint to great. And so that's what was a really good flow and aura about us.” Quinn said.

Up Next

The Storm (24-14) play their final home game on Tuesday, September 17th against the Las Vegas Aces (25-13) at 7:00 PM at Climate Pledge Arena. Las Vegas has won two out of the first three meetings between these two teams this season. Seattle must win this game if they want any chance to have home-court advantage against the Aces in the first round of the playoffs. If Seattle loses, they will be locked into the 5th seed no matter what happens against Phoenix on Thursday.

Notes:
Photo Credits to Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography
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