SEATTLE — Seattle’s Jewell Loyd scored 28 points, setting a WNBA single-season scoring record on her way to the scoring title, but the Sparks closed with a 12-2 run to pull out a 91-89 victory over the Storm in the season finale for both teams on Sunday afternoon.
Nneka Ogwumike, back in the lineup after sitting out with an injury for three games, had 22 points and six rebounds to pace the Sparks (17-23), who trailed for most of the game before outscoring the Storm 20-11 in the fourth period.
Layshia Clarendon (14 points, six assists), Jordin Canada (14 points, seven assists, four steals), rookie Zia Cooke (14 points) and Azura Stevens (10 points, eight rebounds) all scored in double figures for the Sparks, who were eliminated from playoff contention when the Chicago Sky (!8-22) beat the Minnesota Lynx on Friday to clinch the eighth seed.
Loyd shot 9 for 22 from the field for the Storm (11-29), which ended the season on a four-game losing streak. She was 4 for 9 from 3-point range and finished the season with a record 939 points – in the first year of the expanded 40-game schedule. Former teammate Breanna Stewart, now playing for the New York Liberty, was second with 919. Loyd led the league with an average of 24.6 points per game. Stewart averaged 23. Loyd scored 25 or more points 21 times this season. No other player had more than 15.
Ezi Magbegor pitched in with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Seattle. Magbegor grabbed a team-record 318 rebounds this season, one more than Stewart had for the Storm in 2016.
