Flau'jae Shines in Storm's 82-64 Victory

Seattle's defense smothered the short-handed Sparks.

Written By: Molly Tepper
Twitter: mollytepper

(Los Angeles, CA) After back-to-back losses, the Seattle Storm (6-17) got back in the win column with a triumphant victory over the Los Angeles Sparks (8-11). While the Sparks were without star players Cameron Brink and Kelsey Plum, Seattle’s ability to capitalize on turnovers and poor transition by Los Angeles aided their 82-64 victory.

Flau’jae Johnson led all scorers with 23 points and five rebounds, after having a season low of one point in the last game against Portland. Natisha Hiedeman added 15 points, and Jade Melbourne had 11 points. Both players led the Storm with four assists. Katie Lou Samuelson had a crucial nine points off the bench, as she was 3-4 from beyond the arc. Dominique Malonga had nine rebounds, which were critical to Seattle’s effort on the defensive end.

Johnson talked about her bounce-back game during the post-game press conference and said that the key to her performance was coming in with confidence and not being too down on herself after her last game.

Coach Raman also added, “I think (Johnson) was just really determined to make an impact. So, yes, there was a scoring, but I thought just her activity flying around, the offensive rebound put back, she had. Just knowing when she’s in the corners and we don’t go to her. There are other ways for her to make an impact on the floor. But that start that she had, I mean, that was huge.”

The Storm shot 43% from the field (32-75 FG) and shot 30% from downtown (10-33 FG), limiting the Sparks to 17% (5-29 FG) from 3-PT range. Seattle made eight of their nine free throws, scoring 89% from the line.

The story of Seattle’s victory came from its dominant rebounding. The road team had 44 rebounds in comparison to LA’s 35. 37 of those rebounds were defensive, contributing to 15 fast break points by the Storm. As a result of their offensive rebounds, Seattle outscored Los Angeles 13-8 in second-chance points. Further, the Storm converted 25 points off the Sparks’ 19 turnovers.

The defense was very aggressive. They had 14 steals and three blocks. Seattle scored 38 points in the paint versus the Sparks’ 30, and outscored them 24-20 in bench points.

Los Angeles Sparks

Dearica Hamby commanded the game for the Sparks with 17 points (6-9 FG). Nneka Ogwumike was another crucial playmaker with 14 points and 11 rebounds. With seven assists, Erica Wheeler led LA in assists. Off the bench, Kate Martin had a quiet eight points and six rebounds, but made just 1-7 FG.

The Sparks were completely outplayed and lost all the major team stats. Their 19 turnovers were a major factor in their disappointing performance.

Game Breakdown

Dearica Hamby got a quick layup to begin the game. Flau’Jae Johnson went deep from beyond the arc back-to-back. Fueled by the Storm’s strong defense, Johnson hit a layup off a rebound, scoring the first eight points for the Storm. Erica Wheeler completed a floater. Johnson completed both of her free throws. Wheeler added two more inside the paint. Hiedeman got her own rebound, then passed to Johnson, who banked in another three-pointer.

Off the jump ball by Awa Fam, Jordan Horston quickly bucketed a two-pointer. Wheeler responded with a rapid shot from downtown. Hamby went two-for-two from the free throw line. Fam responded with a mid-range jumper. Jade Melbourne made a driving floater, and Nneka Ogwumike got the last possession with a shot from long range.

After taking advantage of the Sparks’ seven turnovers, the Storm led the first quarter 20-15. Johnson led all scorers with 13 points, after a season low one point in Saturday’s game.

Katie Lou Samuelson made a corner three to begin the second quarter. Ariel Atkins drove to the rim, hitting the shot and making her free throw for the And-1. Samuelson hit another three from the left corner. Stephanie Dolson collected an offensive rebound and finished with a quick putback layup, forcing the Sparks to take a timeout.

Rae Burrell made a quick driving layup out of the timeout. After Ezi Magbegor rejected Kiana Williams at the rim, Melbourne sank a three-pointer in transition. Off a turnover by the Sparks, Johnson made another layup. Hamby responded with a two-pointer. Natisha Hiedeman collected her first points for the Storm with two points at the free throw line. Hamby hit another layup and got a free throw along the way. Emma Cannon added two more for LA at the rim. In response, Fam connected on a three-pointer from downtown. Hamby added two more inside the paint, going on a seven-point run outside of the timeout. Heideman collected two points, and Fam made a quick running layup, putting the Storm up by 12.

Off a Spain pick and roll, Hamby made a layup. Johnson collected Fam’s rebound and hit an easy jumper. Dominique Malonga finished a flawless opposite-hand layup. Kiana Williams made a step-back jump shot, and in their next possession, Ogwumike scored at the rim. Hiedeman ended the half with a smooth layup right before time expired.

The Storm led 48-37 over the Sparks to end the first half. Johnson led the way with 17 points, and Hamby scored 14 points for the Sparks. Seattle’s impressive defense, forcing turnovers, led to several fast break points, and their consistent offensive possessions kept them in the lead.

After a scoreless first minute for both teams, Hiedeman made a shot from downtown to give the Storm their first points of the half. A half-court pass by Johnson gave Melbourne an easy two points at the rim. Ogwumike made both her free throws after being fouled. Off a Sparks turnover, Fam made a no-look pass to Johnson, putting the Storm up 16 early in the third. Johnson hit a fading jumper. At the shot clock buzzer, Hiedeman made a one-handed jump shot, forcing a timeout.

Johnson hit a floater in the paint. Horston added to the Storm’s lead, scoring at the rim. Rae Burrell finally gave the Sparks some life with a driving layup, but the Storm quickly responded with another bucket from Horston. Cannon scored from beyond the arc. Samuelson hit a shot from her favorite spot of the night, the left corner, ending the third quarter with the Storm up 68-45, holding the Sparks to only eight points in the period.

To begin the fourth quarter, the Sparks went back-to-back as Chance Gray made a three-pointer, and Hamby scored a running layup in transition off a turnover, forcing the Storm to take a quick timeout.

Zia Cooke collected her first points of the night with a driving layup. Kate Martin responded with a shot from deep. Melbourne scored at the rim, making the possession three points with an And-1 free throw. Cooke made a turnaround jump shot. Hiedeman went two-for-two from the foul line. Then she made another driving layup. Ogwumike responded with two inside the paint. Ogwumike added two more points on a driving layup.

Martin made all three of her free throws after being fouled by Horston. Cooke responded with a bucket from long distance. Williams added a driving layup, yet it was not enough for the Sparks, who were beaten by the Storm 82-64, tying the regular season series 1-1.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (6-17) travel to Atlanta to rematch with the Dream (12-9) on Thursday, July 9th at 5:00 PM. The Dream have surprisingly lost five games in a row. That included a 105-90 defeat to the Storm on June 27th.

Notes:
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Photography Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography
Thanks to Her Hoop Stats and Across the Timeline for being great resources!

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