Sparks Sink Storm
Published on June 11, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release
The Sparks defeated the Storm, 88-83, led by Kelsey Plum 's eighth career double -double and strong performances by Nneka Ogwumike and Cameron Brink. Los Angeles held Seattle to 16 fourth-quarter points in a competitive contest that featured 11 lead changes and seven ties. The Sparks held a 13-5 advantage in offensive rebounds and outscored Seattle 22-15 in second chance points.
Plum recorded 19 points, a game-high 11 assists and a season-high four steals. The four-time All-Star also connected on two three-pointers in the victory, surpassing Lisa Leslie for 11th on the all-time Sparks triples list.
Brink scored 15 points on 71.4% shooting from the field (5-for- 7), 50.0% shooting from three-point range (2-for-4) and 100.0% shooting from the free-throw line (3-for-3). The Stanford product also added six rebounds, including a career-high four offensive boards, two blocks and a team-high +10 rating in 18 minutes. The multi-block effort marked Brink's 22nd in 46 career WNBA games.
Ariel Atkins finished with seven points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals. The performance marked the 19th game of her career with at least four steals, tying her for 34th in WNBA history. Tonight marked the 26th time in franchise history that Sparks teammates have posted at least four steals in the same game that didn't extend beyond regulation.
Ogwumike led all scorers with 24 points and added nine rebounds, while Dearica Hamby recorded a team-high 10 rebounds. Burrell contributed a season-high two blocks in 27 minutes off the bench. Los Angeles improved to 6-6 and won its second consecutive game.
First Quarter:
The Storm began the game on a 7-0 run
The Sparks went on a 10-0 run, including back-to-back unassisted three-pointers by Plum, to lead 10-7 at the 5:57 mark
Plum and Brink tied for a game-high eight points each in the first quarter.
Plum shot 60.0% from the field (3-for-5) and 66.7% from three (2-for-3), while Brink shot 100.0% from the field (3-for-3) and 100.0% from three-point range (1-for-1)
Brink had the last eight points of the quarter for the Sparks starting at 2:38 with an and- one layup. This marked the fifth time in her WNBA career she had at least eight points in a quarter
Los Angeles outrebounded Seattle 14-4 in the first quarter
There were three lead changes and three ties in the quarter. L.A. led by as many as eight and trailed by as many as seven during the opening quarter Second Quarter:
The Storm had a 15-3 run from the 3:36 to the 0:20 mark, making the score 40-37 in their favor
Plum led all scorers with 12 first-half points, shooting 55.6% from the field (5-for-9), posting four assists and three steals
In the first half, Ogwumike led with a game-high eight rebounds, also contributing six points
Burrell hit a three with just under one second to go, tying the game 40-40 at the half
The Sparks held the Storm to 29.4% from three-point range (5-for-17) and held the Storm scoreless on second chance opportunities in the first half. Los Angeles also outrebounded Seattle 23-15 in the first half
There were three lead changes and two ties in the second quarter Third Quarter:
The Storm went on an 11-0 run from 9:33 to the 7:09 mark, stretching their lead to 51-42
Ogwumike led all players in third-quarter scoring with 11 points (5-for-9 FG)
Plum contributed seven points and five assists in the third, scoring five of the seven at the free-throw line
The Sparks ended the third on a 12-4 run, trailing 67-64 heading into the final quarter Fourth Quarter:
Brink opened scoring for the final quarter with a triple via an assist from Burrell to return the lead to the Sparks, making the score 69-67
At the 7:02 mark, Ogwumike completed a three- point play to increase Los Angeles' lead to 75-71
With only two seconds left in the game, Erica Wheeler completed two free throws to deepen the Sparks' lead and put the game out of reach
In the second half, Los Angeles recorded five steals, while Seattle tallied one
Chance Gray made all three free throws she attempted in the final quarter. As a team, the Sparks went a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line in the fourth
The second half featured five lead changes and two ties Pregame Quotes:
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On the dynamic duo of Kelsey Plum and Erica Wheeler:
"I think [they're] a great combo ... They both can play both spots, so either one can get us going and then shape the offense, which is nice to have that versatility there. They're just very different, and I think that matters. The versatility in how they play, but I also see that they have great trust together. T hey're good, they work well together, they talk ... I think all of that matters from your lead guards, and you can tell they enjoy playing together. "
On the team's determination:
"I'm pleased with this group's desire to win and continue to improve. They want to be coached. They're not satisfied with where we're sitting right now. We don't feel like we've hit our stride.
While none of those things are positive, I love that they're pissed off about it and motivated, and they want to do it together.
There's no ego.
All those things are positive. It's a process, and if I panic, they're going to panic, and I'm not panicked because I believe in them.
We'll figure it out.
We're going to hit our stride. Maybe this is the beginning of that, we'll see, but there's no doubt in my mind we will ."
On Erica Wheeler's +32 night against Portland:
" I think Erica [Wheeler] is just steady. She understands the job of a point guard. She knows who to get the ball to, and she just gets us organized really well. Defensively, she's a dog, so she brings a lot.
It's really hard not to have her on the floor, and we've learned that.
She's just been a great addition for us, a great leader.
She isn't afraid to say the things that need to be said and has everybody's respect."
Postgame Quotes:
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On getting the win when the shots didn't fall:
"Tonight, I was proud of our group. We did not shoot well, the stats show that, but we had 11 more shot attempts, and that's why we won the game. This comes from offensive rebounding and taking care of the ball. So, if we can continue to do those things, the shooting I'm not worried about. W e've go t tremendous shooters...
I'm proud of the fact that we were still able to hang in there, get stops when we needed to, get rebounds when we needed to, and that's how we're going to build on that. Sometimes you got to win ugly, and you can gain some confidence and momentum from that."
Cameron Brink
On her growth in the league:
"I feel very confident thanks to the staff, [who] make me feel very confident.
[ Kelsey Plum ] is always in my ear, just super supportive. My rookie year, I think I came in, a nd I just wasn't ready for this league. I believe everything happens for a reason and getting hurt, I did learn a lot.
I'm obviously very far from perfect, but I think I'm just taking every day as an opportunity to get better, and hopefully that just continues to grow."
Kelsey Plum
On leaving everything on the floor: "I'm super - proud. Sometimes that's what happens on the road, got to grind it out. I feel like I got really good looks. At the end, I felt like I was shooting laser beams.
I couldn't feel the lower half of my body, but hey, that's part of it, right? And you just gotta reset, and every game is tough. I thought they [were] super-physical with me, and [...] I put a lot of juice in the third quarter to try to make sure we got back our lead."
On Nneka Ogwumike's impact:
"Nneka [Ogwumike] was MVP of our team tonight. I thought her being so aggressive is what we need moving forward. S he's tremendous in that high paint area, decision-making, shot quality [and] shot efficiency. So, I thought her aggressiveness really setting the tone for us was awesome. We have multiple threats inside [of] and outside [of] scoring. We didn't have a great shooting game, but I think our post players were the reason we were able to come through this game."
With this win, the Sparks have raised $8,000 for Brotherhood Crusade, improving their Commissioner's Cup record to 2 -2 with a +4 point differential.
NEXT: The Sparks bring their two-game winning streak to Phoenix for a 7 p.m. Saturday matchup with the Mercury.
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