SEATTLE — At the start of home games, most Seattle Storm fans stand for the national anthem, player introductions and the opening tip-off, and remain on their feet until Seattle scores its first basket.

It’s a decades-old tradition but the Storm tested their supporters’ resolve Sunday with a prolonged scoring drought that elicited moans and groans.

After six missed shots, three substitutions, a timeout and more than four minutes of game time, the sellout crowd of 14,200 at Climate Pledge Arena roared when Dominique Malonga’s midrange jumper rolled over the rim and fell through the net to put the home team on the scoreboard.

The basket proved to be one of a handful of rare highlights on a day when the Storm never recovered from a slow start and lost 90-74 against the Los Angeles Sparks.

“Pbbbbt,” rookie guard Flau’jae Johnson said when asked about falling behind 13-2 in the opening minutes. “It was bad, obviously. That’s nothing that you could blame anything on. That’s like straight accountability. You know what I’m saying?

“At that point, you got to have a little bit of pride, a little bit of heart. Dom came and scored that first point for us. That kind of got us going, but I think that’s inexcusable.”

It was the Storm’s last game before the WNBA takes a two-week break for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, which starts Friday.

Seattle (8-32), which is two losses away from tying the league record for most defeats in a season, looked like a tired team in desperate need of a vacation.

Any momentum the Storm might have gained from a 90-78 blowout win against the Toronto Tempo in their previous outing Wednesday dissipated when the Sparks led 18-2 in the first quarter.

“That’s really on us,” Johnson said. “We got to be accountable. We’re never going to win games if we start like that. It’s never going to happen because we got to dig to get back up when we shouldn’t be that down. So, it was terrible. I don’t think we were all ready and all here to play today. I think it showed.”

Los Angeles built a 52-30 lead before halftime and was up 64-36 midway in the third quarter when the Storm trimmed their 26-point deficit to 73-63 early in the fourth quarter after Johnson’s reverse layup.

However, the Sparks answered with a 16-6 run to go up 89-69 in the final three minutes and put the game away.

“We can’t let missed shots impact how we guard on the other end,” said coach Sonia Raman, who bemoaned the Storm’s defense that allowed L.A. to shoot 43.8% on field goals. “We can make our defense turn into offense when we’re struggling offensively. There’s other ways that we can kind of impact the game whether it’s pressure the ball, get a steal, get out and run or it’s crash (the glass).

“We had one offensive rebound in the first half. Talked to them about it again at halftime, and in the second half we had 13. That’s how you have to play, right when you’re not making shots.”

The Storm were missing Awa Fam, who left to join the Spanish national team before the FIBA World Cup, and injured guard Natisha Hiedeman (shoulder), who missed her fourth straight game.

Without two of their top four scorers, Johnson picked up the scoring slack and tallied a team-high 19 points while Malonga finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds and Zia Cooke added 14 points off the bench.

Perhaps fittingly, Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike, who spent the previous two seasons with the Storm and announced she’s retiring after the season, scored a game-high 23 points in her final game in Seattle.

“I’m grateful,” said Ogwumike, who had 24 points against the Storm in June while leading L.A. to an 88-83 win. “It feels very familiar, of course, and like a home game a little bit. So, I’m just happy that I have a chance to be able to celebrate with the fans before I finish out my season.”

Malonga, Ezi Magbegor, Jordan Horston and Mackenzie Holmes, who played alongside Ogwumike in Seattle, walked into Climate Pledge Arena before the game wearing Ogwumike’s No. 3 Storm jersey along with Stefanie Dolson and Cooke.

“It’s pretty special being her teammate for a couple years and seeing the legacy that she built here in Seattle and having the crowd reception that she’s going to have tonight,” Magbegor said. “It’s really special just to be able to be share a court with her, whether it’s as opponents or as teammates, I’m really excited about it.”

Before the game, the Storm honored Ogwumike with a video tribute and gave her a framed Storm jersey, sneakers and a bouquet of flowers.

“Nneka’s just been such a special player for this league and for women’s basketball,” said Raman, noting Ogwumike’s 10-year tenure as president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. “I’ve enjoyed watching Nneka back when she was at Stanford and … then her transition into the league. She’s a champion. She’s a really great teammate. She’s a really great leader.

“I think the thing that people will remember about her is how she how she impacts others, right? Like how she treats other people, and how she was able to be such a huge part of multiple CBAs.”

Rae Burrell scored 22 points and Cameron Brink added 11 off the bench for the Sparks (15-25).

The Storm, who are sending four players (Malonga, Fam, Magbegor and Jade Melbourne) to the FIBA World Cup, will resume their schedule Sept. 17.

“We got to look in the mirror and go on this break and be like ‘What are we (going) to do the rest of the season?’” Johnson said. “Because that’s where my mind’s at. What are we about to do? How are we going to end this, you know what I’m saying, going into next year. Because that’s what I’m focused on, getting better to go back into next year.”

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