Instant Takeaways: Storm Fall Short in 2OT Thriller Against Sparks
In the most thrilling contest of the season, the Seattle Storm fell short in a 108-106 double overtime loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday, Aug. 1, at Climate Pledge Arena.
The Storm and Sparks played the longest game of the 2025 WNBA season, with a combined seven players on both teams totaling more than 40 minutes played. LA, however, came out on top after nearly sealing the game two periods earlier.
Here’s what we learned from a long, arduous Storm defeat on Friday.
Tight fourth quarter
After the Storm led the majority of the game, the Sparks retook an advantage a few minutes into the fourth quarter. At that point, LA hadn’t led since early in the second quarter. However, even though Seattle maintained a lead, it never felt out of reach for LA — even when the Storm’s lead was in double figures.
Then Gabby Williams and Skylar Diggins showed up. Mounting an 8-0 run with just over three minutes to play, the Storm narrowed what was a five-point Sparks lead to just two with 2:23 left. An ensuing 3-pointer from Williams — her first of the game — gave Seattle a one-point lead inside of two minutes.
On the Sparks’ next possession, a bad pass from LA’s Dearica Hamby allowed Diggins to have a free path to the basket, extending Seattle’s lead to three with 1:12 to play.
One dead-ball call, a questionable shooting foul and an offensive rebound later, the Sparks re-tied the game. Both teams kept trading buckets. Williams hit a would-be game-winner with seven seconds left, and Rickea Jackson made a quick layup for the Sparks to tie it with under five seconds left. A Hail Mary by Erica Wheeler didn’t fall for Seattle, sending it to overtime.
Double overtime thriller
The Sparks had full control of the overtime period until just 43 seconds remained. Wheeler found a cutting Ezi Magbegor for what ended up being a swirling layup that dropped after what felt like an eternity on the rim. That tied it at 97-97.
Julie Alleman, scoring just her eighth point of the night, drove to the hoop to put the Sparks back up by two with 22 seconds left. Diggins immediately responded with her own layup to tie it again. The Sparks couldn’t convert, and it was time for double overtime.
For the third straight period, the Sparks built up a five-point lead with under three minutes remaining. A third overtime nearly commenced after Williams tied the game for the Storm on a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left, but Hamby squashed Seattle’s hopes following an ensuing layup with 4.3 seconds remaining. Diggins had a close look at the hoop, but it was off the mark.
By the game’s end, Ogwumike (46 minutes), Diggins (43) and Williams (42) had all played more than 40 minutes for the Storm. Kelsey Plum (48 minutes), Jackson (47), Allemand (46) and Hamby (41) also led the Sparks in playing time.
Ogwumike’s best night
With 37 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, Ogwumike finished the game just one point off of her career-high of 38 points, set on June 30, 2016. Ogwumike was just one day shy of 26 years old at that time. She now rivaled that performance at 35 years old in the midst of one of the best seasons of her extensive 14-year career.
Even more impressive, Ogwumike shot 14-for-25 from the field, shooting 56 percent on one of the best scoring outings of her career. It may have been a loss, but the future Hall of Famer left it all on the court for the Storm.
LA’s quadruple 20-bomb
Jackson (27 points), Plum (22), Hamby (21) and Azura Stevens (21) all scored at least 20 points for LA, as the Sparks looked like an early-season version of the Storm. It worked out, however, as LA’s stars continued to hit every timely shot that mattered down to Hamby’s final game-winning layup.
Seattle was right there until the very end, but the Sparks’ group sealed it in the end. LA has now won six of its last seven games thanks to its top-end group.
Seattle’s defensive stars
Even in a loss, the Storm had a few stellar defensive performances that stood out. That’s the only reason the game went to double overtime in the first place.
Williams, in addition to her 14 points, added five rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Ezi Magbegor finished with nine points, 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal and five blocks. Those performances helped keep the Storm in the game as long as they were, as many of the big plays came late in the game when a potential win was on the line.
The standings
Seattle’s loss dropped it to 16-12 on the season, pushing the Storm to 4-5 in their last nine games. This game was an anomaly, and they played well enough to win it. However, the loss dropped them to sixth in the league standings behind the Indiana Fever.
In their current position, the Storm are only 1.5 games ahead of eighth place and 2.5 games ahead of 10th place. With the logjam in the middle of the league standings, the time for a win streak is now.
Up next
The Storm host the Fever (16-12) at noon on Sunday, Aug. 3. It’ll be the second contest in a three-game home stand for the team that concludes with a game against the Minnesota Lynx (23-5) on Tuesday, Aug. 5.
