Nneka Ogwumike scores 24 pts, Kelsey Plum posts double-double in Sparks' 88-83 win over Storm

Nneka Ogwumike scored a game-high 24 points and Kelsey Plum recorded a double-double as the Los Angeles Sparks won at Seattle 88-83 on Wednesday night for their second straight victory.

Los Angeles improved to 6-6. Seattle dropped to 3-11. The Sparks did not shoot well, but they won the possession battle, holding a 13-5 edge in offensive rebounds and outscoring the Storm 22-15 on second-chance points, and they closed the game by limiting Seattle to 16 fourth-quarter points.

Sparks vs Storm: how the game unfolded

The game stayed tight throughout, with 11 lead changes and seven ties. Seattle opened on a 7-0 burst, but Los Angeles answered with a 10-0 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers from Plum. The Sparks dominated the early glass, out-rebounding the Storm 14-4 in the first quarter, and Rae Burrell beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer to tie the game 40-40.

Seattle pushed back in the third, using an 11-0 run to lead by as many as nine before Los Angeles trimmed the deficit and entered the fourth down 67-66. The Sparks took control from there. Cameron Brink opened the quarter with a 3-pointer to reclaim the lead, Ogwumike's three-point play stretched it to 75-71, and Los Angeles sealed it at the line, going 8 of 8 from the free throw stripe in the period. Erica Wheeler iced it with two free throws in the final seconds.

Natisha Hiedeman led Seattle with 16 points. Flau'jae Johnson posted 12 rebounds and six assists.

"We did not shoot well, the stats show that, but we had 11 more shot attempts, and that's why we won the game," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. "This comes from offensive rebounding and taking care of the ball. Sometimes you got to win ugly, and you can gain some confidence and momentum from that."

Nneka Ogwumike leads all scorers with 24

Ogwumike paced the offense with 24 points and nine rebounds, scoring 11 in a pivotal third quarter as the Sparks fought back. Plum was effusive about her impact afterward.

"Nneka was MVP of our team tonight," Plum said. "Her being so aggressive is what we need moving forward. We didn't have a great shooting game, but our post players were the reason we were able to come through."

Kelsey Plum records eighth career double-double

Plum finished with 19 points, a game-high 11 assists and a season-high four steals, the eighth double-double of her career. Her two 3-pointers moved her past Lisa Leslie into 11th on the Sparks' all-time list for made threes. Ariel Atkins also collected four steals to go with seven points, six rebounds and three assists, the 19th four-steal game of her career.

Cameron Brink's efficient night

Brink scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 18 minutes, hitting 2 of 4 from 3-point range and all three of her free throws. She grabbed six rebounds, four on the offensive end to set a career high, and added two blocks while posting a team-best plus-10. Burrell chipped in off the bench with a season-high two blocks in 27 minutes.

"I came in my rookie year and I just wasn't ready for this league," Brink said. "Getting hurt, I did learn a lot. I'm taking every day as an opportunity to get better."

What's next for the Sparks

The win lifted the Sparks' Commissioner's Cup record to 2-2 and pushed their fundraising total to $8,000 for the Brotherhood Crusade. Los Angeles carries its two-game winning streak to Phoenix for a meeting with the Mercury on Saturday at 7 p.m.