Unbelievable! Storm Lose 94-91 to the Sparks

Seattle was outscored 14-4 in the final 3 minutes to lose another game.

(Los Angeles, California) - Seattle blew another great opportunity to get back on track. They led 87-80 with less than three minutes to play in the game. It felt like they were finally going to get that large monkey off their back. And in such an important game for both playoff and WNBA Draft reasons, too. But instead, the team didn’t execute down the stretch, and two of Seattle’s best defenders sat on the bench as the LA Sparks outscored the Storm 14-4 to defeat Seattle and win the game 94-91.

It was the Storm’s 5th loss in a row and 6th loss in their last seven games. Seattle remains winless in the month of August. They haven’t won two games in a row in over a month. Seattle was 14-9 before the WNBA All-Star Weekend on July 19th and 20th and looked to be one of the better teams in the league. Since then, the team has gone 2-7 over their next nine games. They’ve fallen from the Top 4 in the standings, down to a tie with the Golden State Valkyries for 8th place. They are now on the verge of missing the playoffs outright, as they’re only 1/2 game ahead of the LA Sparks for that final playoff spot. And with the way these two teams are headed, it would be foolish to think the Sparks couldn’t surpass the Storm sooner or later.

Seattle had four players score in double figures. They were led by the newcomer, Brittney Sykes, who just joined the team recently at the WNBA trade deadline. Sykes scored a game-high 27 points on 11-21 FG. She also had four steals, three assists, and one emphatic blocked shot. Sykes scored 14 of her 27 points in the final period.

Rookie Dominique Malonga had her second consecutive 20/10 double-double. She had 20 points on 75% shooting (9-12 FG) and 11 rebounds. In her last game, she became the youngest player in WNBA history to have a 20/10 game. And she did it again in her very next performance.

Veterans Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins each contributed. Ogwumike also had a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Diggins finished with 17 points and a team-high six assists. However, neither player was efficient, and they combined for 1-6 FG in the pivotal 4th quarter.

Seattle out-rebounded the Sparks 32-30. They also had a 12-7 advantage in offensive rebounds and outscored Los Angeles 21-12 in second-chance points. The Storm outscored LA 46-38 inside the paint. They also forced the Sparks into 20 turnovers and had a 24-16 edge in points off turnovers. Despite all of that, they still lost the game.

Los Angeles Sparks

The home team also had four players score in double figures. Kelsey Plum continued her stellar season with 20 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Dearica Hamby finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Hamby scored seven points in the 4th with all seven coming in the final 90 seconds, including the game-winner with under six seconds left in the game. Azurá Stevens added 15 points on 6-8 FG and eight rebounds. Lastly, Cameron Brink scored 14 points on 5-6 FG in just 11 minutes off the bench.

The Sparks outshot the Storm 53% (34-64 FG) to 47% (37-78 FG). More importantly, they were red-hot from beyond the three-point line. They made 52% (14-27 FG) from beyond the arc. Seattle wasn’t bad in that area; they made 38% (9-24 FG). Due to their hot shooting, Los Angeles outscored the Storm by 15 points from the arc. They also were +4 from the free throw line as they made 12-13 FT to Seattle’s 8-9 FT.

Their bench outscored Seattle’s reserves just slightly, 26-25. Brink had the 14 points, and Rae Burrell added eight more.

Game Breakdown

Brittney Sykes got the start and scored the game’s first basket. She scored again to put the Storm ahead 4-0. The Sparks responded with two shots, including a three-pointer by Azurá Stevens. Gabby Williams got to the rim with an assist from Sykes. Nneka Ogwumike grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. Ogwumike scored again in the paint and then knocked down a three-pointer. Skylar Diggins hit a midrange jumper. Then Skylar knocked down a three-pointer. Erica Wheeler hit an outside jumper.

Seattle used a 17-0 run as the Storm jumped out to a 21-5 lead. They had everything working early on. LA rallied to close out the quarter. Kelsey Plum drove hard to the rim and was fouled for the AND1. Dominique Malonga countered with a three-pointer on the other end. Plum and Rickea Jackson hit back-to-back triples. Erica Wheeler hit a jumper that rolled off the rim and back in to end the quarter. Seattle led Los Angeles 26-14 at the end of the first frame.

The LA Sparks quickly jumped out to a 5-0 run to begin the 2nd quarter. It was an 11-2 run overall, combining the end of the first and beginning of the second periods. That forced Coach Noelle Quinn to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Skylar got two looks at a three-pointer and hit the second one. That put the Storm ahead by 10. But that didn’t deter the Sparks. They quickly erased Seattle’s lead with a 10-0 run.

Kelsey Plum had her hands all over the game, as she made nice passes to Dearica Hamby and Rae Burrell for easy layups. Then Burrell hit a three-pointer with another assist from Plum. KP then hit a triple in transition to tie the game at 29-29, forcing Coach Quinn into another timeout.

Nneka Ogwumike was fouled and made both free throws. After a couple of turnovers by each team, Kelsey Plum scored on a short jumper in the paint. Plum then hit a three-pointer to give the Sparks their first lead since it was 5-4 early in the first period. Ogwumike found Sykes down low for the easy basket. Hamby scored off the pick and roll. Seattle’s bench picked up a Technical Foul, and Rickea Jackson made the

Los Angeles proceeded to have another big run (10-2) to take a 46-37 lead late at the end of the second quarter. Seattle finished on an 8-0 run with a basket from Dominique Malonga, and then back-to-back three-pointers by Gabby Williams and Brittney Sykes. The Sparks shot an absurd 58% (18-31 FG) in the first half and 57% (8-14 FG) from beyond the arc. The Storm were solid but not as efficient. They made 46% (18-39 FG) and 43% (6-14 FG) from the three-point line. Seattle did have a 17-12 advantage in rebounds. Nneka and Ezi combined for 12 of the team’s 17 rebounds. LA dominated the pace of play in the first half. Los Angeles outscored Seattle 19-2 in fast break points.

Azurá Stevens got deep post position and was open for two down low. Then hit another three-ball. Seattle continued to miss shots, and Dearica Hamby got an easy basket at the rim. After a Diggins midrange jumper, Kelsey Plum was fouled and made her free throws. Skylar hit a three-pointer. Then Diggins made a high pass where only Malonga could catch it, and Dom finished at the rim, to cut the deficit down to three at 55-52.

Hamby made back-to-back baskets to extend LA’s lead back to seven. Malonga and Magbegor scored on the next couple of possessions. Dom scored with an assist from Magbegor to tie the game at 59-59. Cam Brink was fouled and made two free throws. Julie Vanloo was fouled, made the first free throw, and then missed the second. But Brink moved Magbegor out of the way and grabbed the offensive rebound. Brink then fed the ball back to Vanloo in the corner, who sank the three-ball for the four-point possession. Brink then hit a three-pointer to put LA ahead by five (68-63). Seattle ended the quarter on a 6-0 run. Malonga scored, Sykes got to the line for two, and then Erica Wheeler found Brittney Sykes gliding to the rim, who finished at the buzzer of the third period. That gave the Storm a one-point lead, 69-68.

“Slim” Sykes powered her way to the rim. Cameron Brink grabbed an offensive rebound and finished with the putback layup. Brink then knocked down a three-pointer to give the Sparks a two-point lead. Nneka tied the game after drawing a foul against Brink. Sykes had two incredible defensive plays in a row. First, she had a massive block against Hamby at the rim. Then she stole the ball away from Julie Vanloo while falling to the floor and managed to tip the ball and secure the steal.

Out of the timeout, Sykes got another steal that led to a two-on-one fast break for Malonga. Rickea Jackson got to the rim to tie the game. Gabby missed a three-pointer. Two Sparks players knocked the ball out of bounds and couldn’t collect the rebound. Then the referee awarded the ball to Los Angeles. The Sparks stole a possession and made Seattle pay as Julie Allemand hit a three-pointer after Kelsey Plum grabbed an offensive rebound. Nneka would miss a three-pointer, but Seattle responded with a Sykes three-pointer.

Seattle regained the lead with an 8-0 run. That included two triples from Sykes and another basket at the rim by Malonga. After Plum cut the Storm’s lead down to three, Sykes and Diggins scored as the Storm took a seven-point lead at 87-80. Los Angeles answered with a 9-0 run. Stevens scored down low and then hit another three. Hamby was fouled and made both free throws. Then Plum was fouled and made both foul shots.

Brittney Sykes tied the game at 89-89 with 42 seconds remaining. Dearica Hamby scored off the pick-and-roll. Sykes scored again at the rim. With the game tied and less than 24 seconds remaining, LA dribbled the clock down and then got Hamby in pick-and-roll action again. Hamby scored past Dominique Malonga and drew the foul for the AND1. Hamby made the free throw to put the Sparks ahead 94-91. Skylar turned the ball over in Seattle’s final possession. At the final buzzer, Los Angeles threw their hands up in celebration with a big win.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (16-16) return home for a game against the Atlanta Dream (20-11) on Wednesday, August 13th at 7:00 PM at Climate Pledge Arena. Atlanta has won their last five games and Seattle has lost their last five. The Dream defeated the Storm 94-87 in Seattle back on May 30th. Seattle stole a win in Atlanta 80-79 on July 3rd as Skylar Diggins scored in the final seconds.

Part 2

Part 2 will include additional thoughts and discussion from Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks. It’ll be sent exclusively to paid subscribers.

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