Nneka Ogwumike (No. 3) of the Seattle Storm scored an exciting double-double in a heartbreaking defeat to Kelsey Plum (No. 10) and the Los Angeles Sparks. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
SEATTLE — Dearica Hamby buried a clutch lay‑in with 4.3 seconds left in double overtime, lifting the Los Angeles Sparks to a 108‑106 victory over the Seattle Storm on Friday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
It was the first double‑overtime game for Seattle in years, and the Sparks spoiled what had been a stellar performance from Nneka Ogwumike, who scored 37 points including the milestone 7,000th of her WNBA career.
Los Angeles rallied from six points down in the second overtime, sparked by Hamby’s decisive basket off a feed from Kelsey Plum, who had earlier tied the game with a deep 3 in the first overtime. Seattle had two chances to tie or win—Skylar Diggins had the final attempt, a contested jumper that clanked off just before the buzzer.
Rickea Jackson paced the Sparks with 27 points, including the free throws that tied regulation at 86‑all with 3.4 seconds remaining. Plum added 22 points and seven assists, Julie Allemand dished nine assists, and Azurá Stevens chipped in 21 points and five assists.
Cameron Brink gave a spark off the bench with seven points, four rebounds and three blocks in 12 minutes in her second game back after ACL surgery. Los Angeles shot 41‑of‑88 from the field (46.6 percent), 7‑of‑26 from three and 19‑of‑25 from the line. They also held a 46‑42 rebounding edge over Seattle.
Seattle was led by Ogwumike’s 37, 12‑rebound night. She scored on tough midrange jumpers, posts, and drew fouls—making 14 of 25 field-goal attempts and sinking seven of nine free throws. Gabby Williams added 14 points, eight assists and five rebounds, grounded by her coach’s confidence. Ezi Magbegor anchored the interior with 11 boards and five blocks. Skylar Diggins had 18 points and six assists; Erica Wheeler scored 15 and dished six assists of her own. The Storm shot 40‑of‑94 (42.6 percent), hit 11‑of‑32 threes and 15‑of‑19 free throws.
The night featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes. Los Angeles surmounted a seven‑point deficit early in the fourth quarter and battled Seattle to a 98‑98 tie at the end of regulation after Jackson’s free throws and Hamby’s rebound and put‑back sealed it.
Ogwumike, reflecting on enduring extra minutes, said, “I played in triple overtime. Yeah. It’s just naturally mentality. … We knew that more basketball had to get played. And understanding that every possession really matters and not just in overtime. … I think for us, though, it was more about figuring out how we could score and get stops, you know, and that’s … we’re just a possession short in that way.”
Williams echoed the theme of mental toughness.
Gabby Williams (No. 5) of the Seattle Storm recognized the strong performance from Nneka Ogwumike against the Los Angeles Sparks. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
“She’s doing this under fatigue,” Williams said of Ogwumike. “And I think obviously that hurts a bit more that she has a game like that and we can’t reward her and reward ourselves. But this is again someone who’s not talked about enough in this league … we watch her being disciplined every single day. … She teaches me how to be more disciplined, how to be professional. … She inspires us to be better.” She added: “We’ll support a 37, 12 rebound performance … and no, he said it in the locker room … the plays that she made … it’ll pay off later.”
Williams spoke of the mental edge needed in such games: “It becomes a mental battle … I think tonight we did a lot of great things under fatigue. … The clutch baskets after playing 45 minutes … it’s completely mental. Mental toughness.”
Williams was also asked if she feels more comfortable in high‑pressure moments. She replied: “I’ve said this before where I feel like I’m better when I don’t have a choice. … If this has to go in, this has to … those are the moments that I honestly feel like the best thing.”
Storm head coach Noelle Quinn issued a searing critique of the officiating.
Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn was nonplussed with the officiating in Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
“Sky [Skylar Diggins] played 43 minutes and zero free throws. It’s ridiculous. … Sky needs to take 43 minutes and zero free throws is bullshit. Period,” Quinn said. “I saw with my own eyes they go off the opponent and they said there was not enough camera angles to figure to change that call. Again, the lack of respect … we deserve to be refereed consistently. … I know I’m young … but we deserve to get the calls that are just blatant, but there’s not enough camera angles. My guy and I showed him on the iPad. It goes off of KP, not enough angles from what they saw.”
Regarding Ogwumike’s milestone and Jackson’s threat, Quinn praised both, “I didn’t even get to congratulate Nneka for 7,000. She continues to exceed. … She’s one of the best players, if not the best player on my team. … [Rickea] is a difficult matchup … she was guarding Sky all night because of her length and ability to guard multiple positions.”
Asked to compare Ogwumike’s reliability to others in clutch situations, Quinn said: “You talking about Nneka? No comparison. … She came to the league utilizing her athleticism … now she’s expanded her game to shoot threes. … She’s incomparable in my opinion.”
On how the team rebounds from such a loss, Quinn acknowledged the challenge, “We can’t get this one back … so the focus is Indiana. Our preparation tomorrow. … My players spend a lot of minutes, so it’s about rest, recovery and getting our minds back, right?”
Quinn also addressed fouling and physical play, “It’s not just Dom [Dominique Malonga], it’s Gabby, it’s Nneka, it’s Ezi [Magbegor], it’s our entire team. … If that’s what it takes to get calls … it’s ridiculous. … My players work so hard … we’re not foul‑merchants. … Maybe I need to get more techs.”
Quinn praised the team’s resilience: “That’s who we are. We have a group of resilient women who want to play the right way, play for each other … it’s going to pay dividends, hopefully down the stretch … this is a game that will help us down the road.”
The Next Rainfall
Seattle puts their heartbreaking double OT loss from Friday night behind them as they prepare for a Sunday showdown against the Indiana Fever at Climate Pledge Arena.
Los Angeles Sparks: By the Numbers
Los Angeles Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts celebrates a thrilling double overtime win over the Seattle Storm on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
| # | Player | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Dearica Hamby | 41 | 8‑17 | 0‑1 | 5‑9 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 21 |
| 23 | Azurá Stevens | 35 | 7‑11 | 3‑5 | 4‑4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 21 |
| 2 | Rickea Jackson | 47 | 11‑23 | 0‑5 | 5‑5 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 27 |
| 10 | Kelsey Plum | 48 | 8‑17 | 2‑7 | 4‑5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 22 |
| 20 | Julie Allemand | 46 | 3‑9 | 1‑4 | 1‑2 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 22 | Cameron Brink | 12 | 3‑7 | 1‑2 | 0‑0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| 35 | Julie Vanloo | 4 | 0‑1 | 0‑1 | 0‑0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Rae Burrell | 18 | 1‑3 | 0‑1 | 0‑0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 32 | Emma Cannon | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | DNP |
| 1 | Sania Feagin | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | DNP |
| 13 | Sarah Ashlee Barker | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | DNP |
Seattle Storm: By the Numbers
Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins of the Seattle Storm confer in a double OT loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
| # | Player | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Nneka Ogwumike | 46 | 14‑25 | 2‑8 | 7‑9 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 37 |
| 5 | Gabby Williams | 42 | 5‑12 | 2‑4 | 2‑2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 |
| 13 | Ezi Magbegor | 34 | 4‑9 | 1‑2 | 0‑0 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| 4 | Skylar Diggins | 43 | 7‑20 | 4‑7 | 0‑0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
| 17 | Erica Wheeler | 39 | 5‑14 | 1‑7 | 4‑4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| 14 | Dominique Malonga | 20 | 2‑7 | 0‑0 | 2‑4 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 25 | Tiffany Mitchell | 13 | 1‑4 | 0‑2 | 0‑0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | Lexie Brown | 13 | 2‑3 | 1‑2 | 0‑0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 32 | Alysha Clark | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | DNP |
| 33 | Katie Lou Samuelson | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | DNP |
| 54 | Mackenzie Holmes | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | DNP |
| 7 | Zia Cooke | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | DNP |
