LOS ANGELES — This was a significantly better contest than the one on Thursday.
Sadly for the Sparks, the outcome was the identical.
Angel Reese appeared to seize the ball each time it was within the air. She would finish the sport with a file 26 rebounds and the Dream defeated the Sparks in a hard-fought match, 1.
The Sparks solely outrebounded Reese by herself, 32-26, which sounds ridiculous.
"She's elite," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts mentioned about Reese. "Did we miss her a pair occasions on the boards? Eight offensive rebounds is a ton. However I believe she's the very best on the earth at it. I actually do. I believe she has a approach of… her timing is sweet, she's sturdy, she's obtained nice physicality, however she is aware of easy methods to sort of lean to sort of get you out of place to the place now you can bounce and do it. She does an excellent job tipping it sort of to herself. She's good. Might we have now carried out a greater job? Definitely. However you additionally need to tip your hat to who I believe is likely one of the greatest rebounders on the earth."
Nneka Ogwumike did have an excellent sport herself. A classic efficiency as some may say.
"It seems like a blessing," Ogwumike mentioned about retiring on the prime of her sport. "I've all the time been sort of the kind of participant that mentioned that I didn't wish to get dragged off the court docket. However I do really feel like what I do have left I'm pouring into these previous couple of video games and I'm grateful to be doing it on this uniform. And likewise to be, you understand, having the ability to hopefully impression a few of my teammates, most particularly (Cameron Brink) right here. We have now a really distinctive and really particular sisterly bond. Nevertheless, I can imprint some degree of inspiration for her and my teammates on my approach out is admittedly what I wish to do."
Brink adopted up on that.
"Like Nneka mentioned, we have now such an awesome bond," Brink mentioned. "I believe I look to her for lots of energy and she or he's so wonderful at encouraging me. There was a pair performs the place I needed her to be the one to set a down display screen for the post-up look and she or he was like, 'no, you go.' And I used to be like, 'oh, positive, man.' And so I really feel like I get actually emotional pondering that I'm not going to have that subsequent 12 months with you. However I do know I'm going to all the time have the ability to name on you for that. So it's not simply Nneka; it's all people. However I believe simply leaning on my folks has been actually essential."
As for the Dream (25-13), they had been capable of get out of the primary half deficit and go on an 18-6 run that began with Naz Hillmon's three earlier than the tip of the second quarter. The Dream didn’t relinquish the lead after that.
"I believe we had been lacking pictures. And that obtained them out taking part in slightly looser," Roberts mentioned. "It's a extremely good crew. And so they regrouped at halftime and got here out and sort of punched us there within the third. And I’ll say there was a second there the place these guys may have packed it in or simply sort of gone by the motions and so they didn't. And we have now not all season lengthy. And I do suppose that's a credit score to Nneka, to the leaders of this group, that they're not going to let that occur. So, yeah, they're an excellent crew, proper? And so they got here out slightly extra organized there within the third. And we simply didn't have an awesome capturing evening in case you have a look at the chances.
"However I assumed our course of was good, what we had been attempting to do on offense," Roberts continued. "The ball was attempting to be moved. They had been in search of one another. Typically, it simply doesn't bounce your approach."
Neither crew had an awesome capturing evening: Dream shot .400 whereas the Sparks went .388 from the sphere. It's the three-point capturing that betrayed the Sparks as soon as once more: they went 3 for 18 (.167) whereas Atlanta wasn't significantly better at 6 for 29 (.207). However it was Angel Reese's work on the glass that dominated the sport.
Reese additionally scored 11 factors to get her twenty seventh double-double of the season. That's one wanting tying the file set by Alyssa Thomas for many double-doubles (28) in a season. Allisha Grey led the Dream in scoring with 20 factors.
That classic efficiency by Ogwumike went for 27 factors and 16 rebounds. Dearica Hamby and Brink every scored 15 factors. Brink additionally tied her career-high with 5 blocks. Los Angeles was with out Rae Burrell, who missed her first sport of the season as a result of an sickness.
The Sparks (13-25) have another sport of their dwelling stand as they tackle the Washington Mystics on Friday. After that, they'll have another sport on the street (in Seattle) earlier than they take their World Cup break for the subsequent two and a half weeks.