Ogwumike, Sparks Beat Storm 81-53, Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

Photo files; Nneka Ogwumike (30), Isabelle Harrison , The Canadian Press

Te’a Cooper scored 19 points, Nneka Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler added 17 points apiece, and the Los Angeles Sparks routed the Seattle Storm 81-53 on Sunday night to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Sparks (11-19) pulled into a tie with the New York Liberty, one game behind the Washington Mystics for the eighth and final playoff spot with two games to play.

Brittney Sykes had 15 points and a season-high tying 10 rebounds for Los Angeles.

Seattle (20-11) fell into fourth place, a half-game behind Minnesota and a half-game ahead of fifth-place Phoenix. The Storm were missing Breanna Stewart, who will also miss the regular season finale because of a foot injury.

The top four teams earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.

The Storm, who went into the game as the second-highest scoring team in the league at 85.6 per game, set a season low for points while shooting 32% from the field and 22% (6 of 27) from 3-point range. -AP

September 13, 2021