Nneka Ogwumike racks up 30 point s to help Los Angeles Sparks hold off Chicago Sky – WNBA Recap
On Thursday night, playing in front of a packed Staple Center, Nneka Ogwumike hammered a career best 30 points and also hauled down 11 rebounds to help Los Angeles Sparks sweep past Chicago Sky 86-77.
After leading for most part of the game, the Sparks were at the end of a late rally from Chicago. But Ogwumike put to bed any chances of a Chicago comeback as she scored 16 of her points in the second half and it got her due credit from head coach, Carol Ross.
“She was super,” Ross said. “She kept battling in the paint. She created a lot of plays just by being aggressive. She was clearly the sparkiest of Sparks tonight.”
DeLisha Milton-Jones provided a helping hand with 19 points while Alana Beard and Candace Parker contributed 13 and 11 points respectively.
LA out-rebounded Chicago 35-24 in the game but the biggest factor which turned the tide in their favour was their ability to make the most of their chances. The Sparks shot the ball 49.1% from the field in comparison to the Sky’s conversion rate of 42%.
With the win, Sparks stay ahead of San Antonio Silver Stars in the Western Conference in a bid to secure home-court advantage.
Swin Cash led the losing effort with 23 points and 6 rebounds while the resistance was kept up by 19 from Epiphanny Prince and 12 points from Tamera Young.
LA had a solid start and held a 22-10 advantage after one. Sparks kept the momentum going and dominated the rest of the first half much courtesy to 14 points from Ogwumike and 11 from Milton Jones which allowed them to take a 44-35 lead into the interval.
After going 0-8 from three point land in the entire first half, Chicago finally started to find their range from the land of three. A flurry of three pointers, mainly from Cash allowed them to cut the lead down to 4 points before the start of the fourth.
However the Sparks were able to put an end to that rally and stopped any kind of a Chicago run forming from there onwards. They opened the final quarter with a 6-2 run to stretch their lead and although Chicago kept on fighting back, a game capping 5-0 run really sealed the matter for them.
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