The Los Angeles Sparks will take on the Seattle Storm in a Western Conference matchup for the WNBA Commissioner's Cup at Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday night.
Los Angeles enters the contest with a 5-6 record, while Seattle aims to snap a six-game losing streak and improve its 3-10 standing.
Injury Report
According to injury reports, the Sparks enter Wednesday's game with a completely healthy roster.
In contrast, the Storm have ruled out starting forward Ezi Magbegor due to a right foot injury, while Taina Mair remains sidelined under a coach's decision to preserve her developmental contract eligibility.
Sparks Riding Defensive Momentum
The Sparks enter the game following an 89-72 home victory against the Portland Fire, where they limited opponents to 29 second-half points.
Los Angeles currently ranks fifth in the WNBA with an offensive rating of 108.7, but holds a league-worst defensive rating of 111.8, or 115.6 prior to Sunday's game according to league statistics.
"I think defensively giving up 12 points in that 3rd quarter and 29 in the 2nd half, we did the things we're supposed to do," said Lynne Roberts, Los Angeles Sparks head coach.
The victory marked the largest margin of victory for Los Angeles this season, fueled by 22 points and 12 rebounds from Dearica Hamby, alongside 16 points and seven assists from Kelsey Plum.
"I was proud of the effort defensively," Roberts added.
The coaching staff expressed confidence that the team could maintain this defensive discipline during the road game in Seattle.
"You get rewarded from winning… when we focus on the discipline to do the little things for each other, that's how you build trust out there as a unit, and then that just kind of has a snowball effect.
So it's not going to be different playing Seattle in terms of we're going to have a game plan that's well thought out and it's us choosing to do it for 40 minutes," Roberts said.
Forward Nneka Ogwumike contributed to the win with 20 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, recording her third consecutive double-double.
"We were motivated," Ogwumike said.
Ogwumike emphasized that the collective defensive effort was the primary factor in securing the blowout victory against Portland.
"We were playing for each other, we were playing with each other, and, defense, you know, offense is offense, but defense is really where it's at.
And today, I think we did a really good job of not leaving any gas in the tank on the defensive end," Ogwumike said.
Storm Looking to End Slide
The Seattle Storm enter Wednesday's home game after a 101-91 road loss against the Las Vegas Aces.
Guard Natisha Hiedeman led the perimeter with 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while head coach Sonia Raman started Dominique Malonga and rookie Awa Fam together in the frontcourt for the first time.
Malonga recorded 19 points and five rebounds, while Fam contributed 16 points and three rebounds during the loss.
"It's a little bit weird because we never played together," said Awa Fam, Seattle Storm center.
The rookie frontcourt duo had limited preparation time together prior to being inserted into the starting lineup against Las Vegas.
"We (had) maybe one practice or two practices, so it's not a lot. We are in this process of (getting to know) each other.
It's very fun because we are looking forward to playing more together.
… I think we can be a really great duo, but it's just step-by-step, game-by-game and … day-by-day," Fam said.
