Nneka Ogwumike Becomes Sparks' All-Time Leading Scorer as Sky Roll Past L.A. 96-82
· Yahoo Sports
Nneka Ogwumike became the Los Angeles Sparks' all-time leading scorer, but it was the Chicago Sky's night on the scoreboard, as Sydney Taylor scored a game-high 19 points to lead Chicago past Los Angeles 96-82 on Friday for the Sky's second straight win.
Ogwumike had tied Lisa Leslie's franchise scoring record of 6,263 points with 23 points in a loss at Minnesota two nights earlier, then broke it about three minutes into Friday's game. She finished with 6,281 career points with the Sparks, and her double-double of 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds was the 125th of her career, sixth-most in WNBA history. Her career WNBA scoring total, including two seasons with Seattle before returning to Los Angeles this year, is 7,703. She mentioned that the moment hadn't completely sunk in.
Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
"Being able to grow up watching someone that really pioneers not just women's sports, but the WNBA and also the Sparks, she is just synonymous with the L.A. Sparks in the same way that Candace Parker is, and to be mentioned in her company is kind of surreal," Ogwumike said. "It hasn't quite hit. Maybe it'll hit after a win, but I'm very grateful to be in a position to be doing this in a Sparks jersey."
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts predicted Ogwumike would deflect the moment toward Leslie.
"I've run out of adjectives to describe her. I've never been around a player or a human being like her," Roberts said. "For her to be the all-time leading Sparks scorer is deserved. What I love about Nneka is her humility, and I promise you, after the game she's going to talk about Lisa Leslie."
Chicago (9-16) was 17-16 after one quarter before scoring 33 in the second to lead 47-36 at halftime. Los Angeles closed to 65-58 in the third with an 8-0 run, with Hamby scoring eight and Brink adding seven points and two blocks in four minutes. Chicago responded with an 11-3 run in the fourth to push the lead to 80-66, holding on from there.
Taylor scored efficiently in 26 minutes, finishing plus-20, part of a stretch averaging 16.8 points since June 17. She reached her 300th career point, becoming the fourth rookie this season to do so. Kamilla Cardoso added 13 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks for her ninth double-double, passing Stefanie Dolson for eighth on the Sky's all-time blocks list and Candice Dupree for fourth in franchise double-doubles. Jacy Sheldon tied her season high with 14 points off the bench, matching Taylor's plus-20, and noted the group's late-game composure as a hallmark.
"Just our poise down the stretch. Remaining confident, remaining consistent in what we do, getting stops on defense, and using the clock to our advantage, especially in this type of game when we're up big," Taylor said. "I think we've been a lot more poised down the stretch and doing the right thing."
Sheldon agreed the shift in identity has been deliberate.
"It's our poise at the end of the day. It's something we talked about going into the past two games and something we've really keyed in on," Sheldon said. "I'm proud of us for that."
Natasha Cloud scored 15 points, tying her season high with nine assists and no turnovers. Azurá Stevens contributed 12 points, five assists, six rebounds, and a season-high three steals, marking her fourth consecutive game with at least 12 points and six rebounds. Sky coach Tyler Marsh said the recent success in close games is due to simple discipline.
"When you look at the close games we've dropped, it's been late turnovers and fouling in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter," Marsh said. "Whether it was Seattle the other day or tonight against L.A., those two things we did a really good job of in the fourth quarter. I think we only had one turnover in the entire fourth."
Hamby added six rebounds and two steals to go with her 18 points, and Erica Wheeler scored 14 points for her fifth straight game in double figures. Rae Burrell set a career high with five assists, breaking the mark of four she had set in the previous game against Atlanta. Roberts said the turnover gap, Los Angeles committed 18 to Chicago's nine, along with a 15-shot-attempt deficit, was too much to overcome.
"We were doing really well in that department, but Chicago had 15 more shot attempts. It's going to be nearly impossible to beat anybody when they have that many more possessions," Roberts said. "Even if we don't shoot it well, we have to win by taking care of the ball and defending, and we didn't do that."
Hamby, the longest-tenured player, said the team must keep pushing forward regardless of the outcome.
"We can't sulk, be sorry, or feel sorry for ourselves," Hamby said. "We just have to be better, do better, and follow directions."
Los Angeles visits the Dallas Wings on Sunday. Chicago travels to face the Atlanta Dream the same day.