Sparks lose big to Storm
LOS ANGELES » The Sparks did not have an answer for Seattle all-star forward Breanna Stewart, who scored 23 points in three quarters, in the Storm’s 106-69 win on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.
The Sparks fell to 1012 before WNBA All-Star weekend in Chicago. The Storm, one of the league’s top teams in the standings, improved to 15-8.
Lexie Brown led the Sparks with 16 points. Liz Cambage and Jordin Canada added 14 points each, and Nneka Ogwumike finished
THE SCORE
STORM 106, SPARKS 69 Up next: Mystics at Sparks, Tuesday, 7:30p.m., SpecSN
with 10 points and four rebounds.
With an eight-player rotation for the Sparks, interim coach Fred Williams knew it would be important to play all of his available players, including significant playing time for rookie guard Kianna Smith and rookie center Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who played 18 and 16 minutes respectively.
“Right now, at this point of the year, what happens is you have a lot of injuries, knick-knack stuff,” Williams shared pregame.
The Sparks were down 51-32 at halftime. Stewart and Storm all-star guard Jewell Loyd combined for 30 points in the first half.
Seattle led 79-58 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Sparks were without Chiney Ogwumike (knee), Chennedy Carter (knee), Kristi Toliver (calf), Rae Burrell (knee) and Brittney Sykes (health and safety protocols).
The 37-point loss to the Storm ended the Sparks’ three-game winning streak.
L.A. will return to action next week when they host the Washington Mystics on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.