Gabby Williams steals the show as Storm crush Sparks 98-67
For the Seattle Storm, it was a historic Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Gabby Williams stole the show for the Storm as she set a franchise single-game record with eight steals, while also finishing with 11 total points and seven assists in a dominant 98-67 victory over the Sparks.
Williams had six steals before the end of the first half to go along with four assists, and got two more in partway through the third to break the team’s single-game record of seven, previously held by Sue Bird and Jordyn Canada.
With her performance, Williams became the first Storm player ever with four or more steals in three consecutive games.
Nneka Ogwumike also had a huge day with a season-high 26 points while reaching a career milestone, as her 12 field goals gave her 2,639 for her career, passing Tina Thompson (2,631) for the fourth-most in WNBA history.
Skylar Diggins finished with 15 points and seven assists, to put her at number 10 all-time in the WNBA for career assists with 1,585, while Alysha Clark and Erica Wheeler had 14 and 15 points, respectively, to make it five Storm players with double digit scoring totals.
The victory was a fantastic bounce-back win for Seattle after an upset loss on Saturday to the expansion Golden State Valkyries, even though the Storm were eliminated from Commisioner’s Cup contention before the game thanks to the Minnesota Lynx Tueday afternoon victory over the Las Vegas Aces.
The Lynx will play the Indiana Fever in the Cup Finals on July 1.
Even though they weren’t playing for the big payday that a trip to the Cup Finals would’ve provided, the Storm still came out with a hunger.
After trading buckets with the Sparks in the first quarter, Seattle trailed with just over four minutes left, 15-13. But the Storm finished the frame strong with a 13-4 run to take a 26-19 lead headed into the second quarter, as Seattle shot 73.3 percent from the field in the opening frame.
The Sparks quickly roared back with a 9-2 run to pull the game within two points midway through the second, but that was as close to LA would get as Williams and Ogwumike boosted the Storm to a 47-37 halftime lead over a Sparks team that struggled to find its rhythm without point guard and former University of Washington star Kelsey Plum on the floor.
Plum missed the game with a lower left leg injury, while Odyssey Sims was also out for Los Angeles.
The Storm dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Sparks 28-16 to take a 75-53 lead into the fourth, and scored 23 more in the fourth quarter to put LA away for good.
Seattle went 13-for-30 from 3-point territory for a mark of 43.3 percent, while also shooting 52 from the field for the game.
Azura Stevens and Rickea Jackson led the Sparks with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Stevens had 10 rebounds for a double-double.
The Storm will finish their three-game road trip Friday at Las Vegas, while Los Angeles will play Saturday at Minnesota.