LOS ANGELES — On the day Lisa Leslie’s statue was revealed, the Sparks gave the fans more to celebrate.
After the unveiling ceremony, the Sparks then got the job done by dousing out the Fire from Portland. A 12-0 run by the home team in the second quarter separated the teams. The Fire never got close after that. The Sparks won going away, 105-84.
Advertisement
Even though three key players were out for the Sparks in Dearica Hamby, Cameron Brink, and Aaliyah Nye, the Sparks made it rain from three. A 14 to six count behind the arc made a huge difference for the Sparks. Emma Cannon got the start to replace Hamby and finished with 10 points.
“I would just say I always stay ready, so I don’t got to get ready,” Cannon said. “This is something that I’m used to. And when you play with a lot of great players and your name is called, you don’t want to disappoint. So, like I said, I always stay ready. And, yeah, fun times.”
The Sparks had a lot of contributions from the younger players. Everyone played in double-digit minutes. They got threes from a few of them, including three from Chance Gray, who scored a career-best 11 points.
Nneka Ogwumike was asked about how she felt about a generation of players coming into the W and using her as an entry point into the league.
Advertisement
“Yeah, I mean, I had players like that when I came in,” Ogwumike said. “You know, being able to even see (Tamika Catchings) today was really amazing and I think we all kind of served that purpose along the way. That’s something that I’ve always kept in mind because the people that helped raise me, that helped nurture me, a lot of those vets, they’re the reason why I was able to do a lot of the things that I could do. So I’ve always thought it was important to ensure that anybody that you encounter, any player, any teammate, is someone that you can pour into but also someone that you can learn from, and I think that’s something that I’ve enjoyed along the last few years of my career is being able to still gain something from the younger players
“And for (Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda) to say something like that, I think that’s just indicative of the growth of our league, the evolution of our league, and for me to be able to play with Jak when she used to watch me or even Chance told me the other day that her sister and I were in the same McDonald’s All-American game, and I was like, wow, that’s crazy. But I’m just happy to serve as some type of resource along any player’s journey.”
Then there’s the original Spark, Lisa Leslie. Her statue was revealed on Sunday and Ogwumike said that it was important for her and her teammates to attend the ceremony.
Advertisement
“That’s history,” Ogwumike said. “I’m very adamant about players coming in and knowing their history. That’s something that we can’t let go of. I think we see, especially a lot on the NBA side, where they’re honoring these legends. These legends are coming back over and over again and I think we’re kind of entering an era where, albeit our league is still quite young. We’re only 30 years old but there is so much history in this league, in the teams, and I think maybe I have a unique perspective because the league has been around for 30 years and I’ve been in it for half of that time.
“So I’ve seen kind of where it was trying to make its way,” Ogwumike continued. “I’ve seen it kind of bust through the seams and I’ve seen it today. We can’t forget the players that are foundational to why we’re able to play the way we are today, have these resources, have all of this investment, and all the fans that are watching us. It’s only getting bigger and better but that didn’t just happen out of nowhere, and so being able to witness, we haven’t seen the statue because we left before they unveiled it, but being able to witness not just her ceremony, all of the people that were there for her, I think is incredibly important because it may be an introduction to some players when it comes to the legacy that one person has created and it creates an intersection of people and experiences and stories that will not remain untold.”
The Sparks went on a 12-0 run to boost the lead to 45-31. Then the lead got heftier as Cannon made a three-pointer before the buzzer to make it a 60-41 advantage. The Sparks never really lost control after that and the younger players were able to get some run.
Ogwumike finished with another double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Rae Burrell scored 20, which would make it her 11th 20-point game of the season.
Advertisement
As for the Fire, Carla Leite led the team with 23 points while UCLA product Charisma Obsorne scored a career-high 13 points.
The Sparks go to Las Vegas to face the Aces for Ogwumike’s last career road game. Then after that, they end the season on Thursday against the Valkyries at home.
But we’re coming to the reality that Nneka Ogwumike only has two career WNBA games.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
