Storm upset Sparks to begin end-of-season road trip
By Bella Munson, edited by Charles Hamaker
Los Angeles, CA - The Seattle Storm trailed to the Los Angeles Sparks 4-1 early in this game, but took the lead with 7:29 left in the first quarter and never let go of that advantage. Seattle led by as many as 12 in the first half, stretching that lead to 13 late in the third quarter at 52-39. The Sparks, to their credit, never gave up and rallied several times to make this game close.
Los Angeles’ final rally came from the 1:26 mark of the third quarter until 5:32 remained in the fourth, when the Sparks went on a 17-5 run to make it a one-point game at 57-56. For a minute there, it looked like we might see a repeat of what happened against Chicago for the Storm— a fourth-quarter stall and loss after leading the entire game—but Seattle used a 15-5 run to close out their eleventh victory of the season.
The Storm may already be eliminated from playoff contention, but they can still play spoiler. Thursday night, they knocked the Sparks out of their playoff spot, down into ninth place in the WNBA. This isn’t Seattle’s entire motivation for the rest of the season, though.
“It’s not our main focus but it’s part of the motivation for us having to get up for every game still. We also just spoke about wanting to finish this season with a bit of momentum leading into next year where we’re rebuilding something. We’re trying to lay the foundation for moving forward for next year as well. Finishing as well as we can, as strong as we can and continuing to grow and develop as a group is really important,” Sami Whitcomb, Seattle Storm guard.
What went well
Easiest to let head coach Noelle Quinn answer this question as she shared her thoughts on the performance with media after the game saying, “I thought our defense set the tone for us. Obviously, not perfect but allowed us to stay in the game. Rebounding, I liked our rebounding and thought we were very attentive to that... Through the bad turnovers, I thought just the resiliency to stay the course and go get the win on the road.”
Seattle played one of their best defensive performances of the season. Their energy on the defensive end was palpable and helped hold the Sparks to just 61 points, the fewest by a Storm opponent in 2023 and tied for the Sparks’ lowest output of the season. The home team shot just 30.3% from the field, also a Storm opponent season low. In terms of rebounding, Seattle outrebounded LA 45-36.
The Sparks’ leading scorer in this game, Nneka Ogwumike, had only 11 points, well below her 19.3 ppg average and the 27 and 22 points she scored against the Storm in their previous two meetings.
Speaking on the Storm’s defensive performance Jewell Loyd said ““We were vocal, we executed our plan on defense really well. We switched it up on them a little bit and kept them on their toes... I think just our ability to get our hands on the ball a little bit and change it up throughout the game helped us finish it off.”
Storm standouts
Jewell Loyd once again, unsurprisingly, scored a game-high in points with 25. That may seem low for Loyd, only just above her WNBA leading ppg average, but it was her other contributions that stood out. She didn’t shoot particularly well, only 30% from the field, but she added seven rebounds and seven assists.
It is Loyd’s league-leading 17th game with 25+ points. As she became just the fourth player to score 800 points in a season she moved into second on the WNBA’s all-time single-season scoring list with 824 points. Loyd is now just 36 points shy of Diana Taurasi’s 2006 record of 860. She also tallied her 1000th rebound and 900th assist to become the second fastest, of 19 total, to reach 4,500+ points, 1000+ rebounds, and 900+ assists career.
Sami Whitcomb was the next highest scorer to Loyd, adding 14 points and becoming the 15th player to score 1,000 points for the Storm.
Kia Nurse has struggled with her offensive consistency this year. The Canadian has not quite been able to find her form from before her ACL injury. But she is starting to show some of what attracted the Storm to sign her as the season comes to an end. Nurse scored nine points off the bench including two clutch three-pointers—one of which was an impressive deeeeep three from near the midcourt logo to beat the buzzer.
Some stats to consider
The number of turnovers the Storm committed in this game was horrendous. Even though they won the game they cannot and will not ignore this as it has been an issue all season. Seattle committed 20 turnovers in the game resulting in 20 points for the Sparks. Exactly half of those turnovers were live ball turnovers, resulting in easier points for the opponent.
Something interesting regarding Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu is that while she has been consistently starting over Mercedes Russell she has been playing fewer minutes. Russell played 25 minutes while Mendjiadeu only played 14. The Cameroon international only scored three points but she continues to be huge in the rebounding battle, pulling down seven in the game, three of those offensive.
Quick notes
The Storm limited the Sparks to just 61 points, the fewest by an opponent this season. Seattle got off to a strong start by holding Los Angeles to 12 points on 27.8% (5-of-18) from the field in the first quarter, the fewest points and lowest shooting percentage by a Storm opponent this season.
Seattle outrebounded its opponent, 45-26.
Jewell Loyd scored 25 points, her 16th game with 25 or more points, the most by a player this season.
Sami Whitcomb dropped 14 points, connecting on six from the three-point line, upping her streak of consecutive games with at least one trey to 27—the second longest of her career, and the third-longest active in the WNBA. Whitcomb also added three assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Ezi Magbegor contributed six points, eight rebounds, a pair of assists and blocks.
Jordan Horston filled her stat line with nine points, eight rebounds, one assist, a pair of steals and one block.
Jewell Loyd moved to No. 2 in the WNBA all-time single season scoring list, passing Diana Taurasi with 824. She now needs 36 to beat Taurasi’s 2006 record. She also scored her 800th point of the season to become the fourth player in WNBA history to reach that mark.
Loyd reached 1,000 rebounds and 900 assists, making her only the eighth player in WNBA history to amass 4,500+ points, 1,000+ rebounds and 900+ assists. She is the second-fastest to do so at 29 years, 331 days, and in the second fewest games at 285.
Whitcomb became the 15th player to score 1,000 points with the Storm.
Magbegor moved to No. 2 in the Storm all-time single season rebounding list. With eight today, she has now 293 total.
Magbegor also tied Lauren Jackson and Natasha Howard for second most blocks in a season with 67.
What’s next?
Following a victory in the first game of their final road trip of the season, the Storm continue with their next contest at an opponents house when they visit the Las Vegas Aces for the final time this season on Saturday, September 1st. Seattle heads to Las Vegas looking to pull off a mammoth upset, as the Aces have already locked up their playoff spot but will still have a ton of talent out on the court to combat the Storm. That game has a tipoff time of 6PM PST at Michelob ULTRA Arena, and will be broadcast on NBA TV nationally. Following that stop in Las Vegas against the Aces, Seattle has two more road games before closing out the 2023 at home against this same Sparks team.
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Cover photo by Liz Wolter
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