Storm with fourth straight game with stellar defensive effort

Skylar Diggins-Smith’s clucth defensive effort in the final two minutes saw the Storm sweep the season series against the Los Angeles Sparks for the first time since 2015

Diggins-Smith came up with two steals in the final two minutes, both of which led to a pair of successful free throws, and the Seattle Storm survived a fourth quarter that was equal parts hectic and frantic on Sunday afternoon, hanging on to beat the Los Angeles Sparks, 90-87.

The outcome in front of 11,301 fans inside Climate Pledge Arena, was the fourth straight victory for the Storm (24-14). It kept them one game behind Las Vegas (25-13) for the No. 4 playoff seed heading into showdown against the Aces in the regular-season home finale.

“In this league, those are the games and those are the actions that kind of set the standings,” said Gabby Williams, who did her part with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. “Everyone is a great team and everyone is a great player, so you’re not going to blow out anyone. It’s going to come down to possessions like that most of the time.”

Diggins-Smith finished with 19 points, the last six of them at the free throw line. Nneka Ogwumike led the way with 23 on a day when Seattle was without the services of leading scorer Jewell Loyd (right knee) and leading rebounder Ezi Magbegor (concussion). Both are considered day-to-day. Jordan Horston chipped in 16 points off the bench.

“It’s next-woman-up,” Ogwumike said. “I think our first-quarter starts haven’t been where they need to be. Today, with missing two big pieces, that was kind of our focus and we were able to come out strong in the first quarter and maintain that level of play for four quarters.”

From the early minutes of the game, the Storm were in control. They led by double digits for a most of the first three quarters, including a 16-point bulge at 67-51 with 4:13 left in the third.

But by the start of the fourth, the Sparks (7-31), who have lost seven straight and 14 of their last 15, had climbed within eight at 73-65. A basket by Horston and a free throw by Joyner Holmes pushed it back to 11 at 76-65.

From there, Los Angeles put together a 16-3 run to go on top 81-79 with 3:39 to play. The Sparks got 10 of those points off turnovers, including the last two on a lay-up by Odyssey Sims after she had stolen the ball.

The lead changed hands five more times in those last 3½ minutes. Seattle was up 84-83 when Diggins-Smith stole the ball from Sims, and Sims subsequently was called for a loose ball foul. Diggins-Smith hit both free throws to make it 86-83 at the 1:53 mark.

Sims scooped in a shot at 1:43, cutting it to 86-85, then Dearica Hamby drained a pair of free throws at 1:11 to put the Sparks back on top, 87-86.

Diggins-Smith went back to the foul line and hit both for an 88-87 lead with 50.7 seconds to go.

Williams blocked a shot by Rae Burrell with 44.1 seconds to go. In a scramble, Ogwumike came up with the ball, and the Storm called timeout. But on the ensuing possession, they were unable to find an open shot, and Diggins-Smith’s 3-pointer fell way short as the 24-second clock expired, giving it back to the Sparks at 20.1.

Sims missed a driving lay-in and Burrell grabbed the rebound. Diggins-Smith knocked it away, secured it, and was fouled by Burrell with 3.7 to go. She hit both shots, increasing the lead to 90-87.

Following a reset timeout, Kia Nurse finally got the inbounds pass to Jackson at the top of the key. Her 3-pointer bounced away as the horn sounded.

“(The late stops) were pivotal for us, not just for the win, but for this group,” coach Noelle Quinn said, “because we have not had a ton of reps in those moments. You can’t replicate those things in practice. For everyone on the floor at that moment, it just shows that those players are locked in and ready.

The Storm had Diggins-Smith, Williams, Horston, Ogwumike, and Victoria Vivians on the floor during that stretch of crunch time.

“We went a little bit smaller, but there’s a grit to that group,” Quinn said, “and the communication level and character to that group and a will to get those stops.”

BY THE NUMBERS

— Ogwumike moved into 10th place on the all-time WNBA scoring list with a fadeaway jumper from inside the lane with 3:23 left in the second quarter. She came into the game needing 10 points to pass Katie Smith for the No. 10 spot. Smith played 15 years, including two (2011-12) with the Storm. She scored 484 of her 6,452 points while in a Seattle uniform.

— That wasn’t the only scoring milestone during that quarter, In the first minute, Horston went for a driving lay-in for the 500th point of her career.

— The Storm swept the season series (4-0) from the Sparks for the first time since 2015. It was their third series sweep from Los Angeles. Seattle has won 12 of the last 16 games.

— Diggins-Smith now has been in double figures for 13 straight games.

— Seattle had 13 steals, making it 20 games this season with 10 or more.

— The Storm shot 46.5 percent from the floor, hitting 33 of 71. Los Angeles was right there at 45.2 percent (33 of 73).

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UP NEXT

The Storm wraps up their home schedule on Tuesday when Las Vegas visits for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off (Fox 13+ / Prime Video Washington).

—— StormBasketball.com ——

TEAM	1	2	3	4	FINAL	HIGH PTS	HIGH REB	HIGH AST
SEATTLE	24	28	21	17	90	N. Ogwumike (23)	N. Ogwumike (7)	S. Diggins-Smith (6)
LOS ANGELES	15	23	27	22	87	D. Hamby (25)	D. Hamby (11)	O. Sims (5)

HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME ASSETS: 9.15 vs LAS

STORY OF THE GAME: Seattle jumped out to a big, early lead, then fought off a comeback attempt by Los Angeles with impressive defense during the final minute of the game to beat the Sparks 90-87. With the win, the Storm swept the season series against the Sparks for the third time ever and the first time since 2015.

KEY STATS OF THE GAME

• Seattle, which entered the game with a league-leading 9.4 steals per game, recorded 13 steals in the game, including 10 in the first half. The game marked the Storm’s 20^th game this season with 10+ steals, five more than any other team in the WNBA.

 

STORM HIGHLIGHTS

·         Gabby Williams recorded her first 20+-point game of 2024 on a season-high 23 points (9-of-15 shooting). She added six rebounds, a season-high four steals, and three assists.

·         Nneka Ogwumike finished with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting (62.5%), moving her past Katie Smith for 10^th on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list (6,466). Tonight was Ogwumike’s 127^th career 20+ point game, tying Candace Parker for 10^th most in WNBA history. She added seven rebounds and two steals as she sits just three steals away from passing DeLisha Milton-Jones for 10^th all-time. She has averaged 22.0 ppg and has shot 36-63 (57.1%) in four games against her former team, nearly six points above her season average.

·         Skylar Diggins-Smith added 19 points along with six assists and three steals. She leads the team in scoring since the Olympic Break at 18.9 ppg.

·         Jordan Horston added 16 points (7-of-10 shooting) off the bench as she eclipsed 500 career points, adding four rebounds and two assists. The game marked her third time this season she’s shot 70%+ on 10+ shots.

·         Mercedes Russell put up five points, six rebounds, and matched her career-high three steals in her fourth start of the season.

 

SPARKS HIGHLIGHTS

• The Sparks had three players in double digits, led by Dearica Hamby’s double-double, posting 25 points (10-of-17) and 11 rebounds. Rickea Jackson put up 23 points and Odyssey Sims added 20.

NEXT GAME: The Storm host the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday, September 17 for the last regular-season home game of the 2024 season. The game will be broadcast on FOX13+ and streamed on Amazon Prime Video (WA).