The Seattle Storm will look to avoid setting the mark for the worst start in franchise history when they host the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night to complete a home-and-home matchup.
Seattle (0-4) also opened with four setbacks in its expansion season of 2000 and is threatening to reach a new low after the retirement of Sue Bird and the offseason departure of fellow star Breanna Stewart through free agency.
The Storm have quickly gone from one of the best teams in the WNBA to one of the worst, even with four-time All-Star Jewell Loyd leading the WNBA in scoring (28.8 points per game) and tied for the lead in 3-pointers with 16.
Loyd’s 115 points through four games are the third most in WNBA history behind Maya Moore (135 in 2014 for the Minnesota Lynx) and Elena Delle Donne (122 in 2015 for the Chicago Sky).
Loyd scored 37 points, one off her career best, in Saturday’s 92-85 loss at Los Angeles. She tied her career high of eight 3-pointers.
“I was just getting to my spots,” Loyd said after scoring at least 30 points for the second time this season. “It sounds that simple, but when you prepare that way I’ve been preparing you just feel comfortable in those situations to take shots.
“When you see a couple go in, you just want to keep shooting. I got into a rhythm, so I was able to get to my spots.”
Loyd is 17 points away from becoming the third player in Storm history to reach 4,000 career points. The others are Bird (6,803) and Lauren Jackson (6,007).
The Sparks (3-2) will be hunting for their third consecutive victory Tuesday.
Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike will aim for another strong performance after producing 27 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday’s win. She has posted back-to-back double doubles.
Los Angeles coach Curt Miller said the inside game was a key ingredient for his club. The Sparks outscored Seattle 44-20 in the paint.
“As many threes and as good as Jewell played, when you can outscore a team like that in the paint, you’re going to have success,” Miller said.
Layshia Clarendon added 16 points and six assists while Chiney Ogwumike, Nneka’s younger sister, had 15 points and three steals.
–Field Level Media
