Sparks withstand Storm, win second straight

SEATTLE — It's another road win for the Sparks.

They continue to do well away from Los Angeles. It was a close game throughout against the young and talented Seattle Storm (3-11) but they pulled it out at the end, 88-83.

Nneka Ogwumike was playing her first game back in Seattle since leaving the Storm in the offseason. And she had a hell of an impact, leading the team in scoring with 24 points and grabbing nine boards.

"Nneka was the MVP of our team tonight. I thought just her being so aggressive is what we need moving forward," Kelsey Plum offered. "She's tremendous in that high paint area, decision-making, shot quality, shot efficiency. So I thought her aggressiveness and kind of really just setting the tone for us was awesome. So yeah, we have multiple threats, inside-out scoring. We have a great shooting game but I think that our post players were the reason that we were able to come through this game."

Ogwumike revealed at practice on Tuesday that Plum lit a fire under her. Plum said it was basically to remind her what kind of player Ogwumike is.

"I think of all, everything, just really reinforcing," Plum said about 'lighting that fire.' "We're gonna go as far as me and you take us and I think that I just encourage her. Sometimes, I'm dynamic and people can play a little passive but I just encourage her, like, hey, listen, I need you to be hyper-aggressive when you get the ball whether that's in the pocket or the post or in transition. I need you to think about yourself.

"Nneka's such a selfless player. I think she's been a little bit passive in terms of the first couple games. She's trying to feel out the offense, she's trying to do the right thing, but our best shot is with (Nneka) in space, whether that's on the hash or the elbow or things like that. So her aggressiveness tonight was key, especially in the third. Kind of broke the game open for us so, if anything, I just want (Nneka) to just keep being super aggressive."

It wasn't a pretty game for the Sparks; they only shot under 39 percent. But they did enough to get the job done.

"This league is brutal, and for everybody, nobody's exempt," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts divulged. "Tonight, I was proud of our group. We did not shoot it well. The stats show that but we had 11 more shot attempts, and that's why we won the game. This comes from offensive rebounding (13-5 advantage by the Sparks) and taking care of the ball (nine turnovers by the Sparks compared to 15 by the Storm). So if we can continue to do those two things, the shooting, I'm not worried about. We've got tremendous shooters.

"We didn't have a great shooting night but I'm proud of the fact that we still were able to hang in there, get stops when we needed to, get rebounds when we needed to, and that's how we're going to build on that. Sometimes, you've got to win ugly, and you can gain some confidence and momentum from that."

Another Sparks post player, Cameron Brink, also had a tremendous game. 

"Yeah, I feel very confident, thanks to the staff makes me feel very confident," Brink said after being asked about how she felt being on the floor compared to her rookie season. "KP is always in my ear, just super supportive. My rookie year, I think I came in and I just wasn't ready for this league. And I believe that everything happens for a reason. Getting hurt, I did learn a lot, and I'm obviously very far from perfect, but I think I'm just taking every day as an opportunity to get better. And hopefully, that just continues to grow."

The Storm did have a chance to tie the game as it was 86-83, Sparks, with 12 seconds left to go but Natisha Hiedeman's long three didn't go. Ex-Spark Zia Cooke couldn't save the ball in time then Erica Wheeler, who has hit many big shots for the Sparks this season, made clutch free throws after being fouled to put it away. Neither team led by double digits at any point in the game.

Plum had a double-double with 19 points and 11 assists. She also had four steals. Brink had 15 points, six boards, and two blocks.

As if Nneka hadn't done enough, she moved to fourth place in the all-time WNBA rebound list.

As for the Storm, they were led by Natisha Hiedeman with 16 points. Flau'jae Johnson, who Roberts described as explosive, got her second double-double of her career with 14 points and 12 boards. Johnson also had six assists.

The Sparks even their record at 6-6 and go to 2-2 in the Commissioner's Cup. Los Angeles handed Seattle their seventh straight loss.

What's next? The Sparks' next contest is on Saturday when they visit Phoenix for the second time this season.