Los Angeles Sparks defeat Seattle Storm in nail biting finish – WNBA Recap
Nneka Ogwumike scored a running shot with 2.5 seconds left in the game to hand the Los Angeles Sparks a 67-65 victory over the Seattle Storm here at the Staples Center on Sunday night.
The victory helped the Sparks improve to a 5-1 record this season, while Seattle dropped to 1-4. Ogwumike is the number 1 pick of this year’s WNBA Draft and has been a great addition to the team, helping the Sparks start the season
with a 5-1 record.
“Actually it didn't because floaters are my worst shot. I was very concerned about the outcome. But in that kind of moment, dimensions, the geometrics of everything really kind of fall into place and it's about getting the ball
and doing it” said Ogwumike after the game.
Ogwumike finished the game with 10 points and 5 rebounds and Kristi Toliver led the Sparks scoring with 23 points, 5 rebound and 7 assists. She had an amazing night, going 7 of 16 from the field and a perfect 7 of 7 from the free
throw line. Katie Smith had 19 points and 5 rebounds for Seattle, going 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Seattle led 34-32 at half time, and scored the first 4 points of the 3rd period to extend their lead to 6. Los Angeles was right behind their tail, cutting the deficit back to 2 with a layup by Candace Parker. Seattle
led 49-43 going into the final period.
Los Angeles took the lead for the first time in the final period with a layup by Parker. Ogwumike followed it with another layup to put the Sparks up 63-60. Smith replied with a three pointer to tie the game at 63 with 33 seconds
left to play. Toliver scored a driving layup to put Los Angeles back up by two but Camille Little replied with an instant put back layup to again tie the game at 65 with 5.5 seconds left. That was when Ogwumike scored the running shot to seal the victory for
the Sparks.
Candace Parker added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Sparks while Sue Bird had 12 points and 6 assists for Seattle. Los Angeles won despite shooting 34.9% from the field, while Seattle shot 38.7%. Seattle outnumbered Los Angeles
38-33 in rebounds and 16-12 in assists. However, Los Angeles secured 9 more free throws than Seattle at 21, and scored on 17 of those to give them a 7 points advantage in free throws over Seattle.
It was a close game throughout with 9 ties and 13 lead changes.
`I think it was huge. The way the defense was - Nneka did a good job reading the situation. She was able to get in there and get to her shot. I'm really proud of her that she was even able to step up and take that shot” said Candace
Parker referring to Ogwumike after the game.
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