LOS ANGELES — Playing without leading scorer Kelsey Plum and guard Odyssey Sims, the Sparks proved no match for the Seattle Storm. The short-handed hosts trailed by 35 points in the second half and had few answers for a stifling defensive effort from the Storm in a 98-67 loss on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
The Sparks shot 32.8% from the field (21 for 64) and scored a season-low 67 points. They were outscored 28-14 in the third quarter, trailed 75-51 heading into the fourth and lost their second straight game to drop to 4-9.
Rickea Jackson led the Sparks with 17 points on 4-of-15 shooting. Azurá Stevens scored 16 points (6-of-16 shooting) and 10 rebounds, and rookie guard Sarah Ashlee Barker added 12 points.
Former Spark Nneka Ogwumike scored a season-high 26 points on 12-of-16 shooting and Gabby Williams set a franchise record for steals for the Storm (7-5), who shot 52% from the field. Skylar Diggins and Eric Wheeler added 15 points each. Williams, who finished with 11 points, eight steals and seven assists, limped off the court with an ankle sprain with eight minutes remaining. Alysha Clark added 14 points.
Seattle shot 13 for 30 from 3-point range, turned 22 Sparks turnovers into 31 points and had 24 fast-break points.
A Barker 3-pointer gave the Sparks an early 11-6 lead, but the Storm went ahead 18-17 on a Skylar Diggins 3-pointer with 2:44 left in the first quarter and never looked back.
With Plum (20.9 ppg) out with a lower leg injury and Sims (10.5 ppg) out for personal reasons, the Sparks played the game with just three healthy guards, including two players who were signed within the past few days on hardship contracts. Shey Peddy, who signed a hardship contract on Saturday, started at guard along with Ashlee Barker. Grace Berger, signed Tuesday, played 16 minutes off the bench.
“It is what it is,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said before the game. “We just have to do the best job that we can and instill as much confidence in them. I’ve like both of those guys for a long time in Grace and Shey. They’re good players.”
In her second game with the team, Peddy finished with six points in 24 minutes. Berger did not score.
The Sparks trailed 26-19 at the end of the first period, and Williams had 11 points and six steals in the first half as the Storm opened a 47-37 lead at halftime.
Ogwumike played the first 12 years of her illustrious career with the Sparks. Ogwumike, who left as free agent before the 2024 season, was the franchise’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft and a 2016 WNBA champion during her time with the team. The 14-year veteran, who is still playing at an All-Star level, is mentoring 6-foot-6 rookie center Dominque Malonga from France, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft. Malonga scored seven points.
“Dom is great,” Ogwumike said. “It’s fun to be able to see someone start their career in the WNBA. It was that way for me. I was able to have people like Ebony (Hoffman) and Candace (Parker) and DeLisha (Milton-Jones) and Alana Beard guiding me so I just want to be able to provide myself as a resource but she is a brilliant young player and every day she gets better.”
Seattle coach Noelle Quinn, a former UCLA star who played for the Sparks for several seasons during her 12-year WNBA career, said she understands what it feels like to play against your former team.
“I understand those emotions as player it is there but again I think our group has and will always be focused on the task at hand,” Quinn said. “Sometimes we’re not always executing the way we want to but at the end of the day our hearts and our minds are always in the correct space.”
The game was also a homecoming for Seattle guard Zia Cooke, who was drafted by the Sparks in the first round in 2023. Cooke was waived by the Sparks before this season but found a home as a reserve in Seattle.
“I circle every game,” said Cooke, who scored five points. “I’m not going to lie. I’m just trying to become a better me every single day and playing against the Sparks is not just going to make me a better me. This year in general, I’m just trying to get better.”
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The Sparks play at Minnesota again on Saturday. The Sparks took a 101-78 loss against the Lynx last weekend.
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