Storm rally from 21-point deficit to edge Sparks for first win of season
SEATTLE — Jewell Loyd had 25 points and eight rebounds, and the Seattle Storm rallied from a 21-point first-half deficit to beat the Sparks 66-63 on Tuesday night.
Seattle (1-4) avenged a 92-85 loss to the Sparks on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena with the second-largest comeback victory in franchise history.
Loyd was scoreless in the first quarter, after which Seattle trailed 24-6, but she totaled 24 points over the next two quarters to help the Storm build a 52-48 lead entering the fourth.
Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike blocked a shot with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter and headed down the court for a reverse layup try, but it was blocked by Storm center Ezi Magbegor. Seattle secured the rebound, and the Sparks elected not to foul as time ran out.
Rookie Jordan Horston scored a season-high 14 points and Magbegor had 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Seattle. Loyd became the third player in Storm history to reach 4,000 career points.
The Sparks were the first beneficiaries of the WNBA’s expanded travel policy involving charter flights when playing back-to-back games. A look at how that went.
Seattle only had four points through the opening nine minutes of the game but scored 29 in the second quarter to get to within 38-35 at halftime. The Storm made just five of their first 25 field-goal tries.
Ogwumike scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Sparks (3-3). Lexie Brown added 15 points, and Jordin Canada, a two-time WNBA champion with Seattle, scored 11.
Also Tuesday, the Sparks re-signed guard Karlie Samuelson to a contract for the rest of the season. The team signed Samuelson to a hardship contract May 18.
