Storm Enter Break With a Win in LA

Seattle held on to win 89-83 over the Los Angeles Sparks

*Note - because this game was early and during the middle of my work day, I was not able to cover the game like I normally do or interview players or coaches after the game. Because of that, this will be a shorter game recap but will be made available to everyone.

The Seattle Storm finished their final game before the Paris Olympic break with a solid 89-83 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks. Seattle won their third game in a row and earned their 4th win over the past five games. They controlled most of this game except for some moments in the second quarter. The game was still in question midway through the 4th quarter until the Storm used an 11-0 run to secure the win.

Jewell Loyd was pivotal in that final quarter scoring 12 of her game-high 30 points over the final 10 minutes to make sure her team came away with the victory. Loyd had an excellent game all around as she had a game-high seven assists, and added six rebounds.

Nneka Ogwumike felt right at home back in LA and finished with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds. She also had four assists and SIX steals! In the game, Ogwumike surpassed LA Sparks legend Lisa Leslie for 12th place All-Time in WNBA Scoring. Nneka now has 6,266 points in her career moving ahead of Leslie (6,263). Nneka might move into the Top 10 All-Time by the end of this season. The next three on her list are Sylvia Fowles, Katie Smith, and Candace Parker.

Jordan Horston was the only other Storm member to reach double figures. She had another strong game. After scoring 16 points against the Atlanta Dream on Sunday, Horston finished with 14 points on 6-10 FG against the Sparks. That included making 2-3 FG from the three-point line. Horston added eight rebounds and two blocks as well.

The Storm outshot the Sparks 46% (31-68 FG) to 41% (28-69 FG). Both teams were about even with rebounds and assists. The Sparks out-rebounded Seattle 37-35 while the Storm had one more assist than LA (21-20).

Seattle had a slight edge with points in the paint (42-36), made Free Throws (20-17), and fast break points (10-7). Those were all small advantages but made the difference in another clutch game that remained in single digits throughout the fourth quarter.

Los Angeles Sparks

The Sparks had good balanced scoring with four players scoring in double figures and five players with at least eight points. Azurá Stevens had a fantastic game with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Rae Burrell had one of the best games of her career. She tied a career-high with 18 points. She was on fire from three-point range knocking down 5-7 FG from beyond the arc.

Dearica Hamby had a near-double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Hamby continues to be the Sparks’ best veteran player. Rickea Jackson finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Between Horston, Jackson, and Burrell's performances, it was quite the showcase for the former Tennessee Lady Volunteers.

The Sparks bench outscored Seattle’s reserves 20-8. Rae Burrell made all the difference between those two groups.

Quick Summary

Los Angeles got off to a real slow start missing their first several shots of the game. However, Seattle wasn’t able to take advantage as the Storm led just 4-0 more than four minutes into the first quarter. Jordan Horston knocked down a pair of three-pointers and led Seattle with eight points in the first frame. Rae Burrell and Dearica Hamby each had six points for the Sparks. Seattle led 19-17 at the end of the first.

The Sparks used a 12-3 run to begin the 2nd quarter. LA led most of the second period until the Storm finished the quarter on a 14-5 run. Rickea Jackson and Azurá Stevens each scored seven points in the 2nd period for the Sparks. Rae Burrell was right behind them adding six points. Skylar Diggins-Smith led Seattle with six points and Jewell added five more. Seattle outscored the Sparks 22-20 and carried a 41-37 advantage into the locker rooms.

Seattle took a 10-point lead four minutes into the third period after Jewell Loyd made back-to-back three-pointers. Seattle went up by a dozen at 55-43. The Sparks finished on an 18-9 run to finish the quarter. That allowed Los Angeles to keep it close. Seattle led 64-61 at the end of the third. Nneka Ogwumike led Seattle with nine points in the quarter. Jewell Loyd was right with her scoring eight points in the third. Dearica Hamby led the Sparks with eight points.

The LA Sparks tied the game at 68-68 two and a half minutes into the final quarter. Los Angeles took a lead after Azurá hit a three-pointer. The Storm used an 11-0 run to take control of the game. The Sparks didn’t get any closer than four points the rest of the way. Jewell Loyd scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to will her team to victory. She consistently got to the foul line and made 8-9 FT attempts over the final 10 minutes. Nneka added eight points in the closing minutes of the game. Azurá Stevens scored 10 points in the final frame including a three-ball at the buzzer. Seattle outscored LA 25-22 and won the game 89-83.

Final Box Score

Additional Analysis

Moving On Up

The Seattle Storm had a bit of good fortune when it comes to the WNBA standings as we close out the month of July. Despite a couple of disappointing home losses against the Chicago Sky and the Las Vegas Aces, overall the Storm have been playing very good basketball recently. They went 7-2 on their homestand picking up important wins against the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx. Seattle finished this month on a three-game win streak. And the Storm have won 4 out of their last 5 games and 8 out of their last 10.

They finished the third month of the WNBA season with a 17-8 overall record. Thanks to Minnesota’s loss to the Indiana Fever on Sunday and Las Vegas’s loss to the Chicago Sky on Tuesday, combined with Seattle’s wins against Minnesota, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, the Storm have vaulted their way from 5th place to 3rd place in the WNBA standings.

At least for now, that is. They are guaranteed to at least share a tie with the Minnesota Lynx for the third-best record in the entire league. Minnesota has one more game remaining on their July schedule as they host the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday morning (10:00 AM PDT). If Atlanta manages to pull off the upset, then the Storm will own the third-best record in the WNBA outright. If the Lynx beat the Dream, Minnesota and Seattle will have the exact same record but the Lynx will move ahead of the Storm due to them winning the season series 3-1.

But as of this writing, the Storm currently own the best record in the Western Conference and sit in third place only behind the New York Liberty (21-4) and the Connecticut Sun (18-6). Seattle will face both of those teams two more times this season. In fact, they play them in four consecutive games between the end of August and early September. That week could be a make or break for the Storm. Picking up three or four wins could certainly move them even higher in the standings or at least allow them to stay in the Top 3.

Ideally, Seattle wants to avoid being in that 4/5 matchup. Playing the first round of the playoffs against either Las Vegas or Minnesota would not be ideal. Even less so if Seattle was the 5th seed and wasn’t guaranteed even a single home playoff game.

The good news is that there is still plenty of room for Seattle to grow and get better. They have been awful with their three-point shooting in the majority of their games this year but have seen some improvement in that regard lately. Their inconsistent scoring from beyond the arc has been one of the main reasons that have kept the Storm away from being an elite top contender. If Jewell and Skylar can improve in that area, maybe even Sami or Victoria as well, that’ll shore up one of Seattle’s most obvious deficiencies.

They really have a lot going for them. Seattle is an excellent defensive team. They are a great rebounding team. They are one of the best teams when it comes to scoring inside the paint. And they’re also pretty good at getting to the Free Throw line.

Jewell can get better with her three-point field goal percentage. Skylar can get better as a more consistent scorer and a better shooter. Ezi Magbegor can get better at being a more consistent scorer and rebounder. Jordan Horston. who’s already shown much improvement, can continue to build off of what she’s already done this season. Watching her knock down two three-pointers (and a third that was waived off) is evidence of her improved shooting. If she can add that more consistently or even just have games where she’s more aggressive on offense it will pay huge dividends for the Storm come playoff time.

If the Storm continue to play this well and see small improvements here and there from multiple players, they’ll have a great chance to finish as a Top 3 team and compete for their 5th WNBA Championship in the Fall.

Up Next

Nneka Ogwumike and Jewell Loyd will head to Phoenix to participate in All-Star festivities this weekend. Then the entire WNBA takes roughly a one-month break for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Jewell Loyd will play for Team USA. Sami Whitcomb and Ezi Magbegor will play for Team Australia. And Coach Noelle Quinn will be an assistant coach with Team Canada. The Storm’s next WNBA game will be Friday, August 16th at 4:30 PM PDT against the Atlanta Dream.

Notes:
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