Storm falls to LA in double overtime, drops to 16-12

Published 9:00 am Saturday, August 2, 2025

The Seattle Storm played the longest game of the WNBA season on Friday night, losing a double-overtime classic to the Los Angeles Sparks 108–106.

Star Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike’s 37 points were the most of any Storm player this season, as she added 12 rebounds and four assists in a signature performance. Skylar Diggins scored 18, Erica Wheeler contributed 15 and Gabby Williams had 14 points, eight assists and five steals in the loss. Seattle dropped to 16–12 and sixth place while LA improved to 12–15.

Despite the sour result, in which four Sparks players scored 20 or more points, Ogwumike was proud of the fight Seattle showed in the thriller.

“Staying locked in and being able to force double overtime and play to literally the last second, I think you can definitely grow from that,” Ogwumike said.

It was Ogwumike who would lift the Storm out of an early slump, as the 10-time All-Star scored 11 straight to end the first quarter. Both squads found a rhythm in the second, as Seattle took a 39–36 lead into the half.

Ogwumike burned the Sparks on and off the ball to open the third, scoring eight points in the first five minutes of the frame. She’d finish the third with 10 while Williams and Ezi Magbegor scored 13 combined to collectively get on the board for the first time.

LA came out firing in the fourth, as sophomore star Cameron Brink, fresh off a return from an ACL tear, scored five straight. Veteran guard Kelsey Plum (22 points, seven assists) pumped up the Sparks’ bench with a tough step-through and-one to give LA its first lead of the quarter and emphasize an 11–2 run.

Diggins calmly knocked down a contested corner three to take the momentum and the lead back. It was a sign of big shots to come.

But from about the seven-minute mark to the three-minute mark, Seattle went ice-cold from the field. The Storm didn’t make a field goal and scored just three points in that stretch before Erica Wheeler knocked down a three to pull Seattle within two.

After more back-and-forth scoring, Williams gave the Storm an 86–84 lead on a tough shot over Rickea Jackson with eight seconds remaining. But this would be Jackson’s night, as the second-year rising star answered to tie it up and send the game to overtime. Jackson finished the game with a team-high 27 points and nine rebounds.

The Sparks snatched the momentum early in overtime and found a five-point lead with two minutes to play. Seattle continued to fight, as Wheeler and Magbegor both scored to tie the game at 97 with 43 seconds to play. Diggins tied it up once more at 99, and a crucial stop from Wheeler against Plum at the horn meant more basketball.

In that second overtime, a 3-pointer from Azura Stevens (21 points, five assists) gave LA a five-point lead with two minutes to play once again. Seattle showed no signs of letting up, though, as Ogwumike worked her way to the line to cut the lead down. After a point-blank miss from Magbegor late, Seattle needed a stop down three points.

Wheeler stepped in front of a shove from Plum to draw the biggest foul of the game. Williams made good on that effort on the other end, draining a contested 3-pointer from the right wing on an assist from Diggins to tie it with 16 seconds. It was Williams’ second crucial shot of the game to potentially extend play.

“I feel like I’m better when I don’t have a choice, and I’m like, ‘this has to go in.’ Those are the moments that I honestly feel best in,” Williams said.

But as was the nature of the game, 16 seconds was far too long.

Dearica Hamby (21 points, 13 rebounds) scored with just four seconds to play on the other end off a pick-and-roll to seal it for LA; Diggins’ contested layup at the buzzer wasn’t enough to force another period.

Quinn was fed up with the officiating as the game came to a close, as she was seen arguing with the referees after the final whistle. The fifth-year Storm skipper didn’t hold back in the postgame presser when discussing Diggins’ lack of foul calls in the loss.

“Sky played 43 minutes and took zero free throws. It’s ridiculous,” Quinn said.

Quinn, who was more explicit with her language on the topic moments later, added that her hope is that moments like that will earn her players more calls down the line.

For now, the Storm will need to find any rest it can before Sunday afternoon’s duel with the visiting Indiana Fever.

“We can’t get Friday night back, so the focus is Indiana,” Quinn said. “My players played a lot of minutes, it’s about rest and recovery.”