Storm Drop Heartbreaker to Sparks, Drop Fifth in a Row
After being up by as much as 16 in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Sparks, it seemed the Seattle Storm were on the right track to snap their four-game losing streak.
However, the matchup turned into a back-and-forth affair as the Storm couldn’t sustain the momentum they opened the game with, leading to a heartbreaking 94-91 loss that dropped Seattle back to the .500 mark on the season.
The newest member of the Storm, Brittney Sykes, led Seattle with 27 points and four rebounds in her first start with the team. Dominique Malonga posted her second consecutive game of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Skylar Diggins bounced back from her scoreless outing last game with 17 points and six assists, but it wasn’t enough to fend off a rally by the Sparks.
This game was the second leg of a back-to-back for the Sparks and through the first nine minutes, they played like it. Seattle got out to a 21-5 lead, including a 16-0 run where Nneka Ogwumike scored seven early points. The Storm forced several Sparks turnovers early, led by the WNBA’s leader in steals, Gabby Williams, and the aggressive playstyle of Sykes. She was particularly assertive offensively, as she had a quick trigger when left open and didn’t shy away from driving to the basket.
But the quarter didn’t end on a high note as veteran scoring machine Kelsey Plum got things going for Los Angeles. After she completed an and-one, Plum knocked down a three over Erica Wheeler before getting a hockey assist on a Rickea Jackson corner three. Sykes stopped some bleeding with a fading mid-range shot at the baseline that beat the buzzer and stretched the Storm lead back to 12, but the Sparks found a rhythm offensively that they latched onto for the remainder of the game.
Noelle Quinn called two timeouts within the first four minutes of the second quarter, but it was to no avail as Los Angeles tied the score at 29 in the blink of an eye. It was now the Sparks who turned defense into offense, forcing bad Storm passes, pickpocketing players from behind, and capitalizing on defensive lapses. Plum continued to be the catalyst for Los Angeles’ run. She began the game five-for-five from the field, including four three pointers and finished with a team-high 20 points and seven dimes.
The Sparks were poised to run away from the Storm before back-to-back threes from Williams and Sykes cut the deficit to one – part of an 8-0 run to end the first half. Sykes’ three was a 25-footer that she took flat-footed and falling away from the basket, beating the buzzer for the second consecutive quarter.
Things stayed tight throughout much of the second half, as neither team allowed the other to break away. The biggest shift was Dominque Malonga playing twice as many minutes as Ezi Magbegor, as the 19-year old No. 2 overall pick might be finding her stride in her rookie campaign. Offensively, she was confident and strong near the basket – not shying away from the likes of Cameron Brink and Dearica Hamby. Diggins also came alive, doing what she does best, facilitating and finding her shot when necessary. The third period concluded on a fast break by Erica Wheeler, who found Sykes through traffic to beat the buzzer once more and retake the lead 69-68.
Sykes went on an 8-0 run by herself as the clock wound down in the fourth. She hit a couple of threes and a runner off the glass that put the Storm up five with under four minutes remaining. But the lack of experience and defensive presence in the paint began to show, as the Sparks found several ways to score near the basket to evaporate Seattle’s lead in a matter of minutes.
This is where the game seemed to turn into a battle of want and will between Sykes and Hamby. Sykes bullied Plum on a drive and finished a layup on the left side. On the other end, Hamby caught a bounce pass off of a pick-and-roll, slipping just past Malonga and hitting a scoop layup to give the Sparks a two-point advantage. Sykes responded on a layup down low off after an inbound pass where she put together a couple of pump fakes along with pristine footwork to even the score at 91.
But Hamby answered back after getting a pass from Julie Allemand where Malonga seemed to anticipate a dribble hand-off, allowing Hamby to take an advantageous angle as she drove around the rookie and finished over her, resulting in an and-one opportunity that she completed. It was the eventual game winner as Hamby finished the night second in scoring for the Sparks with 19.
The Storm had five seconds to work with and gave the ball to Diggins. Off a pick-and-roll, she felt two defenders and tried to kick it back to Sykes, but Julie Allemand jumped into the passing lane and knocked it away. The ball rolled toward the Sparks bench as time expired and left the Storm wondering how another late-game situation didn’t fall their way. Williams and Magbegor were both on the bench in the final minutes, as Quinn is still searching for her optimal lineup in pivotal minutes.
With this latest defeat, Seattle drops to seventh in the league and 16-16 overall, barely grasping onto their playoff spot. Their next two games come against the third-seeded Atlanta Dream (20-11), the first of which on Wednesday as the Storm return home to Climate Pledge Arena at 7 PM PT.
