Storm-Sparks Preview

Amid the final stretch of the WNBA regular season, the Seattle Storm and Los Angeles Sparks are just two teams in the mix for the top spot in the league standings.

They'll meet Friday night for a key matchup at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

At the moment, Seattle (14-3) sits atop the WNBA standings while riding a three-game winning streak. Los Angeles (13-4), meanwhile, is a one-half game back. However, Las Vegas and even Minnesota have a chance at propelling themselves to the top of the heap, as well.

The Storm won the first 2020 meeting with Los Angeles, 81-75 on Aug. 1. Star Breanna Stewart (19.6 points per game, 8.4 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game) had a big game with 21 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals as Seattle jumped out to a 27-16 lead after one quarter.

In Wednesday's 71-64 win over Washington, Stewart finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Fellow star Sue Bird returned Wednesday night to play 24 minutes after missing four games with a nagging issue. The Storm shot just 38.7 percent -- 5 of 21 from beyond the 3-point arc -- but held a 43-25 advantage on the boards.

"Every game has its own personality, this one kind of turned ugly and it was sort of a grind-it-out game," coach Gary Kloppenburg told the Storm's official website. "I would expect us to get into a lot better flow in these next couple of games coming up and I think we need to."

There would certainly be plenty of motivation in facing Los Angeles, a rival that's won 10 of its last 11 contests overall. The Sparks saw their nine-game winning streak end with a 96-78 victory over Minnesota on Monday, but bounced back to win 91-83 triumph over Dallas on Wednesday.

Candace Parker posted 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while Brittany Sykes continued her surge with 19 points as Los Angeles overcame a six-point deficit after one quarter to outscore the Wings 31-16 in the second period.

"We want to keep taking steps forward, and we have to clean up a number of things," Parker, who averages 13.7 points, 9.4 boards and 4.4. assists, told the Sparks' official website. "But, I think we're figuring it out. And I think (that) the main thing is figuring it out while continuing to be in games and win."

Sykes has averaged 13.0 points over her last seven games. She had just four points off the bench in the loss to Seattle this year. Parker finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds in that game.