Storm out to boost playoff hopes, sweep Liberty

The WNBA regular season is near the finish line, and Friday night in Seattle, the Storm and New York Liberty will each fight for their place in the playoffs.

For Seattle (22-20), it is in a battle for one of the last remaining spots in the postseason with two games remaining. After winning two straight, including one against the Minnesota Lynx, who hold the No. 1 seed, the Storm fell to the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday night 91-85.

Seattle held a 73-68 lead heading into the fourth but were outscored 23-12 in the final 10 minutes, despite both Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins scoring 21 points apiece on the night. It sets up the final two games of the Storm's season as vital in clinching a postseason spot.

"You have to be able to digest things and then move forward and see how you can get the next win," Ogwumike said. "We did a good job of that for the most part the last couple of weeks. But there's only two games left so there's no option but to win both of them."

New York (24-17) already clinched a spot, but now focus on team chemistry and moving into a higher seed with three games remaining. Helping the cause is the return of former MVP Breanna Stewart, but that has created an issue with team chemistry as the Liberty, who struggled all season with injuries, try to get into a rhythm before the playoffs.

Since Stewart's return, New York is 2-2, including a 66-58 road loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday night.

"We have three games left and we're not where we need to be," Stewart said. "It's frustrating and it's tough, but I know that our team is going to continue to show up every day and fight for where we want to be."

Stewart and Natasha Cloud, who has also missed time this season with injury, scored 19 points each in the loss to the Valkyries, the Liberty's first against the expansion side.

Seattle has two wins over New York this season, including a 79-70 road victory on July 6.

--Field Level Media