Nneka Ogwumike racked up a season-high 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field, Gabby Williams had a career-high eight steals and the Seattle Storm breezed past the host Los Angeles Sparks 98-67 on Tuesday.
Ogwumike passed Tina Thompson for the fourth-most made field goals in WNBA history (2,639), and teammate Skylar Diggins entered the top 10 all-time in total assists. Diggins scored 15 points while dishing seven assists to reach 1,584 for her career.
Williams, meanwhile, added 11 points and seven assists before limping out of the game during the fourth quarter. Her eight steals set a franchise record.
Alysha Clark scored 14 points (4-of-5 3-point shooting) and Erica Wheeler poured in 15 points for the Storm (7-5), who won for the fourth time in five games.
Seattle outshot Los Angeles 52 percent to 32.8 percent and had an efficient 29 assists on its 39 made baskets. Williams’ penchant for steals helped the Storm turn 24 takeaways into 31 points.
Rickea Jackson led Los Angeles (4-9) with 17 points. Azura Stevens put up 16 points and 10 rebounds and Sarah Ashlee Barker went 4-for-5 from deep for 12 points.
The Sparks were without leading scorer Kelsey Plum, who is undergoing imaging for a lower leg injury, and fellow starter Odyssey Sims (personal reasons).
The Storm broke open a tight first quarter with an 11-0 run, ignited by Diggins’ 3-pointer. Los Angeles drew within 26-19 to end the period, but couldn’t stop Seattle from making 11 of its first 15 shots.
The Sparks scored the first five points of the second period and clawed to within two on three occasions. After Jackson matched Williams’ 3-pointer with one of her own for Los Angeles, Diggins canned another triple and Ogwumike added back-to-back buckets. Ogwumike’s mid-range jumper with 4.6 seconds left gave the Storm a 47-37 halftime cushion.
Then Seattle used a 28-14 third quarter to make the lead essentially insurmountable. The Storm had their first 20-point lead on Ogwumike’s three-point play with 5:37 still left in the quarter.
Seattle took a 75-51 lead into the fourth quarter and led by as many as 35 down the stretch. Williams, though, exited the blowout early in the fourth after accidentally stepping on an opponent’s foot. She was checked out in the locker room and returned to the bench area to end the game.
–Field Level Media
