There’s no question the Los Angeles Sparks can score.
But if they’re to reach the WNBA playoffs and make any sort of run, they’ll need to play better defense.
The Sparks showed what they’re capable of as they snapped a three-game skid with an 89-72 victory against visiting Portland on Sunday.
They’ll look to continue that trend Wednesday at the Seattle Storm in a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup game.
Entering Sunday’s game, the Sparks had a league-worst defensive rating of 115.6. After trailing by two at the half, they allowed just 12 points in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth to post a double-digit victory.
“We were motivated,” said Nneka Ogwumike, who scored 20 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds. “We were playing for each other, we were playing with each other and defense, you know … offense is offense but defense is really where it’s at.
“And I think we did a really good job of not leaving any gas in the tank at the defensive end.”
Dearica Hamby added 22 points and 12 rebounds and Kelsey Plum totaled 16 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals for the Sparks (5-6, 1-2 Commissioner’s Cup), who allowed a season low for points.
“You get rewarded from winning,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “When we focus on the discipline to do the little things for each other, that’s how you build trust out there as a unit, and then that just kind of has a snowball effect. So it’s not going to be any different playing Seattle, in terms of we’re going to have a game plan that’s well thought out and it’s us choosing to do it for 40 minutes.”
The Storm (3-10, 0-4 Commissioner’s Cup) will be desperate to snap a six-game losing streak and earn their first victory against a Western Conference opponent this season (0-5).
Seattle is coming off a 101-91 road loss at defending WNBA champion Las Vegas.
First-year Storm coach Sonia Raman started second-year standout Dominique Malonga and rookie Awa Fam, the No. 3 overall pick in this spring’s WNBA draft, together in the frontcourt for the first time.
Malonga finished with 19 points and five rebounds despite battling foul trouble and Fam added 16 points and three rebounds.
“It’s a little bit weird because we never played together,” Fam said when asked about being paired with Malonga. “We (had) maybe one practice or two practices, so it’s not a lot. We are in this process of (getting to know) each other. It’s very fun because we are looking forward to playing more together. … I think we can be a really great duo, but it’s just step-by-step, game-by-game and … day-by-day.”
–Field Level Media
