Jewell Loyd broke out of a shooting slump in a big way and she aims for another stellar outing when the Seattle Storm host the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday night.
Loyd made 6 of 8 3-point attempts and scored 22 points as Seattle (11-6) recorded an 85-71 home win over the Washington Mystics on Thursday night. The six treys were one shy of her career best, set last season.
The stellar performance came after Loyd was just 11 of 42 (26.2 percent) from the field over a three-game stretch. She failed to reach double digits in scoring in two of the games, including an effort in which she was just 3-for-16 shooting against the New York Liberty last Sunday.
“Just getting back to the basics,” Loyd said, according to the Seattle Times. “I had time to form shoot. Get in the gym early. Not overthink it. I know what I’m capable of. I know what we’re all capable of. Just trying to not lose confidence in my abilities. Just got in the gym, played some music and got some shots up.”
Loyd’s seventh 20-point effort of the campaign helped the Storm win for the sixth time in the past seven games. All-Star Breanna Stewart added 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Stewart leads the WNBA with a 21.6 scoring average.
Los Angeles (6-10) has dropped four of its last five games, including Thursday’s 82-59 home loss against the Chicago Sky. The 23-point margin was the club’s second-largest setback of the season behind a 104-76 shellacking at the Las Vegas Aces on May 23.
The Sparks trailed 54-25 at halftime against Chicago while dropping to 1-3 under interim coach Fred Williams.
All-Star Nneka Ogwumike scored 15 points to lead the Sparks. She averages a team-best 17.8 points and is doing her best to keep her teammates involved.
“I always tell myself this: ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup,'” Ogwumike said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “It’ll suit everyone better if I help myself first and then can help everyone else.”
Seattle posted an 83-80 home win over the Sparks on May 20 in their first meeting of the season. Stewart scored 28 points for the Storm and Liz Cambage poured in a season-best 25 for Los Angeles.
–Field Level Media