SEATTLE–Rookies Jewell Loyd and Ramu Tokashiki were the catalysts and the defense took care of the rest for the Storm on Wednesday as a strong push in the second and third quarters was enough as it beats Los Angeles 68-61.

The win snapped a five-game losing streak and was the third time this season Seattle has beaten the Sparks.

Loyd and Tokashiki got Seattle on top in the third when the 6-foot-3 forward hit a jumper from the wing to make it a one-point game and it was followed with a steal and a fastbreak layup for Loyd to take a 41-40 lead.

It was one of 25 turnovers forced by Seattle and two of the team’s 26 points off turnovers.

“They both play at a speed that can go to another level,” Storm head coach Jenny Boucek said. “I think when they’re in a game together, they feed off each other’s energy, especially their speed down the floor. They know there is going to be at least one other person running with them. I think they’re gaining some confidence from the fact that they know they can run.”

Loyd led the team with 13 points and Tokashiki chipped in with 10.

After a pair of free throws from Alysha Clark gave Seattle a 43-40 lead.

Later in the quarter, Los Angeles went on a 6-0 burst with two straight baskets from Erin Phillips to cut the Storm lead to one but the run was stomped out when Sue Bird found Renee Montgomery in the right corner for a three to push the advantage back to four.

The Storm took its largest lead of the night out of the gates in the fourth when Abby Bishop hit a three to make it a 59-50 game.

Both offenses went cold after that but Los Angeles managed to close within five with 4:22 left.

While it was the younger players that got the Storm the lead, it was the veterans that closed it out. Jumpers from Clark, Crystal Langhorne, and one from Bird with 1:31 left put the game out of reach.

Seattle held the Sparks to 30.8 percent shooting in the fourth and forced six turnovers. Nneka Ogwumike, who came in averaging 18.5 points, was held to 12 points and a mere four in the second half.

“We stuck with what we were doing,” Boucek said. “The first quarter took us a little while to get a feel for them, in particular Ogwumike. Neither Tok nor Abby had played against her before and I thought throughout the game they made good adjustments to make Ogwumike work for what she was getting.

“They went big for a while and I thought Alysha Clark did an incredible job on Ogwumike during that stretch, which was a part of our change in momentum also.”

Langhorne finished with 12 points.

It was only the second start of the season for Tokashiki and the decision was partially made by Bishop, who she replaced in the lineup.

“Abby talked to me about yesterday,” Boucek said. “That shows you the type of players, people that we have. They are not worried about themselves. They are talking to me about what’s best for the team.”

Seattle will pick it back up on Saturday when it hosts Atlanta at KeyArena at 6 p.m.

Loyd and Tokashiki got the Storm started and scored on back-to-back possessions to tie it up at 12 in the first quarter. But Los Angeles got three straight jumpers from Ogwumike to take a six-point advantage.

Aided by a sluggish Storm offense in the second, the Sparks went up by 12 at 31-19. Jantel Lavender was in the middle of the action and scored nine first half points.

But then the rookies brought the Storm back. Four points from Tokashiki and a three from Loyd cut the Sparks lead to five and then Montgomery capped the 14-2 run with a three to tie it up at 33.

“Any time you get to play with someone that you love, you get excited,” Loyd said. “I love playing with Tok. I love playing with everyone on this time. Good chemistry all around.”

Loyd and Tokashiki combined for 17 points in the half and scored 11 of the team’s 18 second quarter points. It was the first time the pair had started together.