Nneka Ogwumike paired 23 points with 10 rebounds in her return to Los Angeles, powering the Seattle Storm to an 89-83 win over the host Sparks on Tuesday.
Ogwumike, who played in Los Angeles from her rookie season in 2012 through 2023, also recorded six steals and four assists as the Storm won their third consecutive game.
She started Tuesday’s matinee matchup slowly, missing her first three field-goal attempts, including one blocked by the Sparks’ Dearica Hamby.
But Ogwumike’s 17 second-half points fueled Seattle (17-8), which gained some separation in what was a tightly contested game throughout.
Los Angeles (6-18) has lost three of its last four games after ending an eight-game losing skid on July 5.
The Sparks got season-highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds from Azura Stevens in just her fourth game back from offseason left arm surgery.
Rae Burrell scored 18 points off the bench and rookie Rickea Jackson added 16 for her sixth double-digit outing over her last seven games.
However, Los Angeles could not withstand the Storm’s duo of Ogwumike and Jewell Loyd, which combined for 53 points.
Loyd led all scorers with 30 points – including 12 in the fourth quarter – and dished out a game-high seven assists.
Her performance in the final period helped Seattle engineer a decisive 11-0 run after a Stevens 3-pointer had given the Sparks a 73-71 lead with 6:29 remaining.
Jordan Horston added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Storm, who head into the Olympics break with wins in four of their last five games. Skylar Diggins-Smith made up for a 2-of-12 day shooting from the floor with five assists and three steals for Seattle.
Hamby scored 15 points for Los Angeles to go with nine rebounds and three assists. Aari McDonald scored eight points but washed out her four assists with a team-high four turnovers.
–Field Level Media
