The Seattle Storm continue a three-game road swing on Tuesday when they visit the Los Angeles Sparks for the teams’ first meeting of 2025.
Seattle (6-5) began its road trip on Saturday with a letdown — falling 76-70 at Golden State after digging a 22-point hole. The loss came on the heels of the Storm handing Minnesota its only loss of the campaign last Wednesday.
“There’s some frustration, because a lot of the stuff we were doing [at Golden State] wasn’t characteristic,” said the Storm’s Alysha Clark, citing Seattle’s 16 turnovers. “These are early tests for us, when you’re on the road and things get difficult. How are you going to respond? I’m proud of the way we at least fought back.”
Seattle heads into Los Angeles for the final night of Commissioner’s Cup play ranked right in the middle of the WNBA for turnovers at 14.1 per contest. The Sparks, meanwhile, are generating 13 takeaways per game. That’s fewer than all but three teams.
The low forced-turnover rate contributes to Los Angeles (4-8) also ranking 10th in scoring defense with 86.0 points allowed per game.
The Sparks have surrendered at least 88 points in five of their last seven games, including a season-worst their last time out in Saturday’s 101-78 loss at Minnesota.
Los Angeles trailed by 32 points at halftime and gave up 41-of-72 shooting (56.9 percent) from the floor for the game.
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts pointed to the performance of Emma Cannon off the bench as a positive coming out of the Minnesota loss. The veteran’s season-high 14 points marked Cannon’s first double-figure-point performance since September 2023, when she was a member of the Indiana Fever.
“When my number’s called, I just want to come in and do what I can,” Cannon said. “When coach puts me in, I just try to be aggressive and when my teammates find me, I try to shoot the 3-pointer as well as possible.”
Cannon has made two 3-pointers in each of the last two games, including a 97-89 win on Wednesday at Las Vegas. That game included a career-high 30-point effort from Rickea Jackson, who has come on with 48 points in the last two games.
Jackson recently rejoined the Sparks lineup after sustaining a concussion last month.
Her contributions add a fourth primary scoring option to complement Kelsey Plum (20.9 ppg), Dearica Hamby (17.5) and Azura Stevens (13.3).
Seattle leans on its own quartet for the bulk of its offensive production, highlighted by veteran Skylar Diggins’ 18.1 points per game and 15.6 from Nneka Ogwumike.
–Field Level Media
