The Sparks fell to the Dallas Wings, 104-96, on Friday night, dropping to 0-2 in Commissioner’s Cup play.
LA started the game shooting well from behind the arc, but finished 9-28. They had 17 turnovers to Dallas’ 12. Los Angeles did win the points in the paint battle, 52=48.
The threes were falling early for the Sparks with Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins knocking down triples. Kelsey Plum returned from her ankle injury and her first shot was a 3-pointer that she drained.
At the first timeout, Plum and
Atkins were leading LA with five points each. Los Angeles was up by three with 4:54 left.
Cameron Brink checked in and knocked down a triple. The Sparks were 4-5 from behind the arc in the quarter.
Arike Ogunbowale was in double figures for the Wings with 10 points. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up by four.
Atkins and Azzi Fudd exchanged 3-pointers to start the second period. Atkins scored two more, giving her 10 for the half, making her the first Spark in double figures. LA was winning in the interior, 20-16.
Kate Martin provided a huge spark off the bench with five points.
At the 4:40 mark, Los Angeles was up by four. Arike knocked down her third triple of the half. At halftime, the Sparks were up by one.
The third period began with Dearica Hamby converting on a layup. Fudd responded on the other end with a layup of her own. Hamby was having a strong quarter, scoring four more points, pushing her total to 15 for the night.
Arike was still hot from behind the arc, knocking down two more. With 4:06 left, Dallas was up by one. LA retook the lead after five quick points from Atkins and Nneka Ogwumike.
Paige Bueckers responded with a triple on the other end, tying the game. The teams exchanged baskets again, keeping it tied until a free throw from Rae Burrell put LA up one going into the fourth.
The final frame began with Brink getting fouled and converting on one of two free throws. Jessica Shepard now had 22 points for the night after converting on a three-point play and scoring on a midrange jumper.
Both teams were having a strong quarter, with LA shooting 40% and the Wings shooting 75%. At the 7:03 mark, Dallas was up by one.
The Wings were on a 9-0 run, led by Maddy Siegrist’s five points. Plum converted on a layup to stop some of the bleeding for Los Angeles. The Sparks found themselves down by six with five minutes left.
Thanks to a combined five from Plum and Atkins, it was now a three-point game with 3:13 left. Siegrist drained a corner three that put Dallas up by six. Plum and Wheeler both converted on a pair of free throws each, cutting into the deficit.
Arike continued her strong night with a putback layup, making it a four-point Wings lead with 1:15 left. Plum was fouled and converted on just one of two free throws. LA was within three, but Siegrist grabbed a timely rebound and scored on a layup that gave Dallas a five-point lead with 50.4 seconds left.
Los Angeles turned the ball over and fouled Bueckers, who converted on both free throws, sealing the win with 47 seconds left.
Key Player Stats
Plum finished with 27 points, two rebounds and six assists. Atkins ended with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Hamby pitched in with 15 points and five rebounds.
Nneka logged 13 points with 10 rebounds and five assists. Brink had 10 points with five rebounds. Martin scored five points off the bench. Wheeler notched seven points with six assists.
The Sparks’ next game will be against the Portland Fire on Sunday at 4:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
