Storm try to carry road success back home to face surging Sparks

The Seattle Storm return home from a three-game road swing on Friday when they face the Los Angeles Sparks for the first time since June's Commissioner's Cup.

Seattle (16-11) bookended last week's series of away dates with routs of Chicago and Connecticut. The Storm's 196 combined points in the wins contrasted with a 58-point showing in their July 26 loss at Washington, Seattle's lone setback on the trip.

"We talked about after the All-Star break ... rebounding and being pursuant of the basketball and how that helps us in the (fast) break," Storm guard Skylar Diggins said following Monday's win.

Seattle was dominated on the glass at Washington, 44-28, but turned it around against Connecticut with a 37-26 edge. Diggins was responsible for 12 of those rebounds, which, along with 11 points and 11 assists, resulted in her first career triple-double.

For the season, the Storm have struggled with a rebounding disparity of 35.8 rebounds allowed per contest vs. 31.6 secured.

Despite forward Azura Stevens ranking third in the WNBA with 8.6 boards per game, Los Angeles (11-15) comes into Friday's contest averaging 33.1 rebounds per outing to rank 11th in the league. Only Seattle and Connecticut average fewer.

However, thanks to a recent offensive resurgence, Los Angeles has reinvigorated playoff hopes that appeared futile shortly before the All-Star break.

The Sparks were just 6-14 less than a month ago but ran off five straight wins while scoring at least 92 points in every game. Their winning streak ended the last time out in an 89-74 loss on Tuesday vs. Las Vegas.

The 74 points scored in Tuesday's setback marked the Sparks' fewest since an 82-66 loss at league-leading Minnesota on June 21.

Despite its winning streak coming to an end, the loss was not without a bright spot. Cameron Brink, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, made her first appearance since sustaining a torn ACL in June 2024.

Brink, who established herself as a standout interior defender with 2.3 blocks per game for the first month of her injury-shortened rookie season, returned to action and made an impact on the Sparks' offense with a 3-pointer.

"I was really proud of her. Very impressive to come in and make the impact she did," said Los Angeles veteran guard Kelsey Plum. "Cam's a competitor, and I love that. I think she's going to continue to help us a ton."

If Brink can continue to contribute offensively, she could free the court more for Plum, whose 20.2 points per game are the third-most in the WNBA.

--Field Level Media