Nneka Ogwumike, Ezi Magbegor help Storm hold off Mystics

Nneka Ogwumike scored 24 points and Ezi Magbegor had a double-double as the visiting Seattle Storm topped the Washington Mystics 83-77 on Tuesday.

Magbegor bundled 13 points and 14 rebounds for Seattle, which led 44-30 at halftime before allowing Washington to close within a possession multiple times in the second half. Jewell Loyd tallied 18 points and Skylar Diggins-Smith added 17 as the Storm (18-10) snapped a two-game skid.

Ariel Atkins led the Mystics (6-22) with 25 points, including 14 during the third quarter to help pull Washington within 61-57 entering the fourth. Shakira Austin supplied a career-high 24 points and nine rebounds as the Mystics lost their fifth straight game.

Washington trailed 75-74 late in the fourth before committing back-to-back turnovers that Seattle converted into four points.

The first miscue came when Brittney Sykes threw the ball away to Loyd, who raced ahead for a layup that made it 77-74 with 1:10 left. Austin lost the ball out of bounds on the Mystics' ensuing possession, and Ogwumike capitalized with a layup to give the Storm a 79-74 cushion with 48 seconds to go.

Washington closed within 80-77 on Sykes' 3-pointer with 11 seconds left before Seattle hit three more free throws to close it out.

The Storm made 26 of 30 free throws compared to the Mystics' 13-for-19 clip and converted 22 Washington turnovers into 29 points. Ogwumike hit all six of her free throw attempts, Magbegor went 4-for-4, Diggins-Smith converted seven of nine and Loyd made eight of nine.

Atkins made all five of her field goal attempts, including four 3-pointers, during her explosive third quarter that pulled the Mystics within four.

She fueled a 7-0 run to begin the second half with a pair of threes that trimmed Washington's deficit to 44-37, then hit two more triples just over a minute apart to make it 55-51 at the 3:44 mark.

The Mystics twice closed within two before Ogwumike scored four points over the final 1:22 to leave the Storm ahead 61-57.

Ogwumike had 14 first-quarter points for Seattle, which converted 15 Washington first-half turnovers into 19 points.

--Field Level Media