SEATTLE — The first stop of the Sparks’ seven-game trip was always going to include a little extra emotion – for both sides.
Nneka Ogwumike scored a season-high 26 points against her former team, Jewell Loyd added 21 points and the Seattle Storm pulled away to beat the Sparks, 95-79, on Tuesday night.
Seattle scored on four straight possessions down the stretch to seal it. Skylar Diggins-Smith drove into the lane and passed it out to Ogwumike for a corner 3-pointer to make it 79-70. Diggins-Smith added a 3-pointer on Seattle’s next possession for a 12-point lead, then Ogwumike capped the 8-0 run. The Storm outscored the Sparks 29-18 in the fourth quarter.
Ogwumike, who spent the first 12 years of her WNBA career with the Sparks before leaving as a free agent in the winter, has helped Seattle (8-4) win seven of its past eight games, with the lone loss coming against Minnesota on Sunday.
Diggins-Smith finished with 19 points, five rebounds and six assists for Seattle. Sami Whitcomb made three 3-pointers to finish with nine points. Ezi Magbegor grabbed 13 boards to help the Storm outrebound the Sparks 45-33.
Li Yueru scored a career-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds for the Sparks (4-8). Dearica Hamby had another double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) to go with five assists, and Aari McDonald added 15 points off the bench.
Hamby shot 7 for 16 from the field, but the Sparks shot just 39.1% overall (27 for 69) with rookies Rickea Jackson (1 for 8) and Cameron Brink (2 for 7) and veteran guard Lexie Brown (2 for 9) all struggling through a rough night.
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Ogwumike recorded her 364th straight game with at least one rebound, breaking a tie with former Sparks star Lisa Leslie for the second-longest streak in WNBA history behind former Sparks star Candace Parker with 410. Magbegor had her eighth straight game with at least three blocked shots.
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf sat courtside and chatted with Loyd after the game.
UP NEXT
The Sparks play at Minnesota on Friday at 4:30 p.m. PT.