Storm beat the Sparks 90-82 to stay within 1 game of fourth place Las Vegas

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Nneka Ogwumike's reverse layup pads Storm's late lead

Nneka Ogwumike gets the ball and finishes a reverse layup to give the Storm some insurance later in the fourth quarter.

Sep 12, 2024, 05:17 am

LOS ANGELES -- — Skylar Diggins-Smith had 26 points, Gabby Williams scored 13 of her 17 in the second quarter and the Seattle Storm beat the Los Angeles Sparks 90-82 on Wednesday night.

Seattle (22-14) stayed within one game of fourth place Las Vegas (23-13), which also won Wednesday, in the WNBA standings. The Storm play at Dallas on Friday before returning home for a matchup against the Sparks on Sunday. Los Angeles (7-30) is off until Sunday.

Seattle trailed 39-29 with 3:40 left in the first half before closing on a 11-2 run, with five points from Williams, to tie it at 41-all at the break. Williams scored 15 points in the first half and Nneka Ogwumike added 10.

Seattle had its lead trimmed to 75-74 with 4:19 remaining on a Rae Burrell basket, but the Sparks did not make another field goal until Rickea Jackson’s layup with 27.1 left.

Williams responded with two free throws at the other end with 25.6 left to regain an eight-point lead.

Ogwumike added 16 points and eight rebounds for Seattle. Ogwumike moved into 11th place on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list, moving past Sylvia Fowles (6,415). Ezi Magbegor set a franchise record for blocks in a season, passing Lauren Jackson’s mark of 81 from 2002.

Rickea Jackson finished with 22 points and Azura Stevens had 18 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles. Dearica Hamby, who had six points and eight rebounds, set a franchise record for most rebounds in a single season, passing Lisa Leslie (336).

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball