Nneka Ogwumike’s best run of the season is helping the Seattle Storm climb the WNBA standings.
After helping Seattle win three in a row by scoring at least 25 in each game, Ogwumike attempts to continue her roll Tuesday night against the visiting Indiana Fever.
Ogwumike has scored at least 25 in three straight games for the first time since she signed with Seattle after the 2023 season. The former MVP and nine-time All Star has scored 25 or more five times overall for Seattle, which is 5-0 in those games.
The latest occurred Sunday night when Ogwumike scored 26 and made 12 of 17 shots in an 89-79 home win over the New York Liberty. Ogwumike is shooting 71.4 percent (35-of-49) over her past three games against the Liberty, Las Vegas Aces and Los Angeles Sparks.
On Sunday, Ogwumike scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and 20 in the second half when Seattle (9-5) outscored New York 46-37.
“I look up to her, not only what she does on the floor, but in how she carries herself and how she makes us have a standard to ourselves with her experience,” Storm guard Skylar Diggins told the Seattle Times after adding 13 of her 20 points in the second half.
Seattle is on its second three-game winning streak and has won six of seven following its three-game losing streak May 27-June 1.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but I think that we’re trending in the right direction with a lot of things that we’ve been emphasizing,” Seattle coach Noelle Quinn said.
Indiana (6-7) is 2-2 since Caitlin Clark returned from missing five games with a quad injury by scoring 32 points to beat New York on June 14.
Clark then scored 20 in Indiana’s 17-point win over the Connecticut Sun but shot a combined 10-of-34 and 1-of-17 from 3 in losses at Golden State and Las Vegas.
On Sunday, Clark put up 19 points in an 89-81 loss to Las Vegas. Indiana was outscored 31-20 in the fourth quarter of that game.
“There are going to be stretches that are really good and there’s going to be stretches that aren’t as good,” Clark told reporters. “Obviously, it’s frustrating as you want them to go in.”
While Clark struggled in the past two games, Kelsey Mitchell is averaging 18.8 points in her past four games and finished with 20 on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
