A fourth-quarter collapse ended the nearly storybook ending for Nneka Ogwumike’s illustrious career.
After leading for much of the game, the Sparks were outscored 30-20 in the fourth quarter to see the Valkyries steal a win in the season finale, 76-75.
Trailing 72-62 with 2:21 left, Golden State went on an 11-0 run in two minutes, capped off with a Gabby Williams three to give the visitors a 73-72 lead with 20 seconds left. Rae Burrell and Nneka had chances to take the lead late but both came up empty.
Nneka led the way early, scoring six of LA’s first eight points. Gabby Williams had six points for the Valkyries. The Sparks were shooting 36% from the field. Both teams missed a combined 10 attempts from behind the arc.
Both teams struggled offensively. The Valkyries did put together an 8-0 run, but they didn’t build a big lead with it. Chance Gray drained the first 3-pointer of the game.
At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down by two.
Tiffany Hayes scored on a layup for Golden State to start the second period. Tonie Morgan responded on the other end with a layup for LA. Los Angeles took the lead after scoring five points in a row.
Nneka was now in double figures with 10 points. The Sparks were up by five.
The Sparks kept pouring things on to close the half, using a Burrell and-one to lead 30-21. LA had a response for every Valks basket with Nneka knocking a turnaround jumper, giving her 12 points in the game, to close the half and give LA a 35-26 halftime edge.
Threes from Erica Wheeler and Burrell in the opening minutes of the third period extended the lead to 15 and forced an early timeout.
Fouls started mounting for the Sparks early in the frame, giving Golden State a lifeline back into the game. The Valkyries cut the deficit to nine at the four-minute mark, but Burrell’s back-to-back threes quickly extended it to 14. Monique Akoa Makani added to the run with an and-one layup to push the lead to 16 points.
At the end of the third, LA was up by nine, as Golden State finished the quarter on a 9-2 run.
Nneka opened the final fourth quarter of her career with a layup, putting Los Angeles back up by double digits. Kaitlyn Chen converted on a layup on the other end for the Valks. Both teams were having a strong period, with the Sparks shooting 55% and Golden State shooting 50% from the field.
Nneka converted on a midrange jumper that had her fired up. Chen knocked down a triple, pushing her point total to 15. She was trying to pull the Valkyries back into it single-handedly.
Los Angeles was up by 10 with 2:40 left.
Chen continued her stellar quarter, converting on a three-point play to cut the deficit to single digits. Williams then scored five in a row to make it a two-point game with 1:03 left. Golden State was on an 11-2 scoring run.
After an Ariel Atkins missed mid-range jumper, Williams drained an insane clutch triple that gave the Valkyries a one-point lead with 20.4 seconds left.
Nneka and Burrell both missed shots that would’ve given LA the lead. Head coach Lynne Roberts was then assessed a technical foul, and Kayla Thornton converted the technical free throw.
Hamby then fouled Thornton, sending her to the line where she made both free throws. With 8.5 seconds left, Los Angeles was down by four and had the ball. Williams committed a foul away from the play, sending Nneka to the line for one free throw, which she missed.
Burrell knocked down a three at the buzzer, but it was too little, too late.
Key Player Stats
Nneka finished her incredible career with 17 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Burrell ended with 15 points and four rebounds. Makani pitched in nine points off the bench.
Dearica Hamby notched 15 points in her return from injury. Wheeler logged five points with five assists. Morgan had four points with four assists. Ariel Atkins ended with seven points and four assists.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
