The WNBA’s leading scorer pours in season-high 37 points and has 115 points through first four games of 2023

LOS ANGELES – With a personal triple-milestone, Jewell Loyd did everything she could to try and get the Seattle Storm get into the win column – and she had help from elsewhere.

But it wasn’t quite enough.

Loyd poured in 37 points, drained her 400^th career 3-pointer and handed out her 800^th assist, but the Los Angeles Sparks fought off a fourth-quarter Seattle comeback to secure a 92-85 victory on Saturday night in Crypto.com Arena.

 Hitting 13 of her 26 shots from the field, including 8-of-12 from downtown, Loyd came within one point of her career-high 38. It was the fourth-highest scoring game in Storm history, trailing only Lauren Jackson’s 47 against Washington in 2007, Breanna Stewart’s 38 against Atlanta in 2016, and Loyd’s 38 against Las Vegas to close out the 2022 season.

Loyd also opens the season with 115 points through the first four games, the third-most in WNBA history behind Maya Moore’s 135 in 2014 and Elena Della Donne’s 122 in 2015. Both won MVP honors that season.

Ezi Magbegor came within one rebound of her third straight double-double, finishing with 14 point and nine boards. Rookie guard Jade Melbourne added a career-high 10 points off the bench.

Through the two-minute mark of the third quarter, the game was played within a seven-point span, as Seattle’s biggest lead was four, and L.A.’s was three.

The Storm was up 57-55 when the Sparks began a 17-4 scoring run. The first part of that surge gave Los Angeles a 65-59 edge at the end of the third, and the second part stretched it to 72-61 with 8:16 left in the fourth.

Seattle responded with a 7-0 run of its own: a foul line jumper by Loyd, a 3-pointer by Loyd on an assist by Sami Whitcomb, then a coast-to-coast lay-in by Magbegor. That made it 72-68 with 6:13 still on the clock.

The Sparks took it right back with a 9-3 burst, extending the lead back to 13 at 81-71 with just 3:40 remaining.

But once again, the Storm clawed back as Loyd factored into their next 11 points: the first eight on her own, then assisting on a 3-pointer by Melbourne. That made it 86-82 with 1:42 left.

Seattle had multiple chances to get within one possession, but came up short on five straight shots, including two lay-ups, and the Sparks closed it out by getting their final six points at the free throw line. Melbourne’s lay-in at the buzzer merely altered the final margin.

The Storm had by far their best shooting night of the season, hitting 46.2 percent overall (30-of-65) and 52 percent behind the arc (13-of-25). Led by Magbegor’s nine, they also out-rebounded the Sparks, 37-34, their third-straight game having an advantage on the boards.

Los Angeles came up big in the paint (44-20) and on turnovers, forcing 18, which it converted into 17 points. The Sparks force nearly 20 per game, and Seattle came in averaging just 12, second-fewest in the league.

Nneka Ogwumike racked up 27 points for L.A. on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and a perfect 11-of-11 at the free throw line. She made it a double-double with 14 rebounds. It was her second impressive double-double in 24 hours. On Friday, she had 21 points and 12 rebounds in a 99-93 overtime victory at Phoenix.

Former Storm player Jordin Canada had nine points, seven assists, and four steals. She leads the league in steals at 3.0 per game.

SPEAKING OF MILESTONES 

Saturday was Loyd’s 200^th game of 10-plus points, making her the third Storm player (along with Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson) and the 46^th in WNBA history to achieve that.

With 400 treys and 800 assists now in the book, Loyd has a chance at her 4,000^th career point on Tuesday when the Storm and Sparks meet in a return game at Climate Pledge Arena. Saturday’s 37 points pushed her up to 3,983. She would become the third Seattle player to top the 4,000 mark. Bird finished with 6,803, and Jackson had 6,007.

UP NEXT 

Seattle and Los Angeles tip off at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday (Fox 13+, CBSSN, Prime Video). That will be the start of a three-game homestand.