Nneka Ogwumike pours in 26 points as Storm blowout Lynx

Effort is contagious. When Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike makes it clear she is ready to battle by fighting for position on every missed shot, leaping over opponents’ backs, and causing havoc both inside and on the perimeter, the entire team follows.

Because at the end of the day, a player with her accolades isn’t typically expected to do the “dirty work.”

Thanks to a bounce-back game from Ogwumike, the Storm secured a 91-63 win against the Minnesota Lynx, the team with the best record in the Western Conference.

Ogwumike returned to double figures after not reaching that milestone in Wednesday’s 84-79 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. Her performance was highlighted by 26 points, five rebounds and her 150th career three-pointer.

Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with another double-double, totaling 10 points and 12 assists, while Jewell Loyd and Sami Whitcomb each added 14 points, with Whitcomb’s coming off the bench.

Even without All-WNBA forward Napheesa Collier, who missed her third consecutive game due to plantar fasciitis in her left foot, the Lynx had previously managed to overcome her nightly average production of 20 points and 10 rebounds, winning each of their last two games.

Yet, in front of a crowd of 8,320, taking care of the basketball and playing with physicality and intensity against a short-handed team clearly proved to be a winning strategy for Seattle — especially against a Minnesota team leading the league in points off turnovers and assists and had used those strengths to secure three wins against the Storm already this season.

The Storm committed just 11 turnovers Friday.

“We have to take care of the basketball,” Storm coach Noelle Quinn said pregame. “We gave up too many points off of our turnovers to the team who is now top in converting off of those turnovers. We have to make sure we’re sharp offensively.”

Holding a team with the second-best field goal percentage and the top three-point percentage in the league to just 30.6% from the field and 22.3% from beyond the arc also helped.

Coming off the bench, Jordan Horston continued to make vital contributions that may not always show up in the stat sheet.

Two early turnovers and easy looks in the paint put the Storm down 9-2 early, but just minutes later, a play after diving into the stands for a loose ball, Horston threw a no-look pass to Ogwumike, who beat the defender down the floor for an easy layup at the 5:12 mark.

Then, after contesting a floater from Dorka Juhasz without fouling, Horston fronted Juhasz on the next play, securing a deflection that led to a steal at the 3:20 mark.

In Wednesday’s postgame interviews, forwards Ezi Magbegor and Joyner Holmes emphasized that their defense fuels their offense.

And that couldn’t have been more true in the second quarter Friday.

Guard Victoria Vivians quickly made an impact in the second quarter, hitting a near corner three and pull-up jumper on back-to-back possessions.

However, it was the team’s defense that not only got the fans into the game but energized the entire team. A 13-0 run ensued.

During this run, a pick-and-roll with Diggins-Smith allowed Ogwumike to hit a mid-range jumper, surpassing her previous game’s total points just three minutes into the second quarter and adding two of her 12 points in the quarter.

Lynx forward Diamond Miller finally ended the streak with a tough left-handed layup over the outstretched arms of Vivians.

Diggins-Smith sank a right-wing three-pointer a possession after a left-to-right crossover on Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman for a three-point play, capping off a first half dominated by defensive swagger.

That very swagger carried over to the third quarter and the rest of the game.

Late in the third quarter, Ogwumike had her shot blocked but quickly ripped the ball out of Miller’s hands and powered through for a three-point play.

Besides holding their opponent scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the quarter, Sami Whitcomb put the icing on the cake by scoring the first nine points of the fourth quarter on three three-pointers, pushing the lead to 25.

The Storm (15-8) moved to 6-2 on their WNBA record nine-game homestand, which concludes at 3 p.m. Sunday when they host the Atlanta Dream at Climate Pledge Arena.