LOS ANGELES — The Sparks pride themselves on being disruptive and that ethos is personified by Sparks veteran guard Layshia Clarendon, who is starting at the small forward position for the first time in their decade-long career in the WNBA.
“I play bigger than I am,” Clarendon began, who is listed at 5-foot-9. “My mantra was always, bite them on the ankles. That’s what I do when I go out there… I like to play physically and I like to play tough and so I think that’s just something that plays to my advantage to guard a three-player (small forward) or getting switched on to certain people and it’s just that grit, that toughness and I think that’s what we really had (Saturday night) and I was really proud of myself for having that and getting to the free throw line.”
Clarendon finished with a season-high 16 points, six assists and three steals against the Seattle Storm Saturday.
“I’ve known Lay for a long time and to be able to see her path and her journey and everything that’s gone on is really impressive and I think that mental fortitude as a player in this league who fights for opportunities and thrives when she gets there is the coolest thing ever,” said Sparks center Chiney Ogwumike, who has scored in double figures in three out of the four games she has played this season. “So it’s fun to have people like this that you have gone through wars with literally since you were out of high school and now you’re teammates. We don’t take that for granted.”
Ogwumike graduated from Stanford. Clarendon graduated from the University of California-Berkeley. Both played each other countless times in college in the PAC-12 and over the years in the WNBA.
Meanwhile, the Sparks have found success with the team’s unconventional starting lineup of Jordin Canada, Lexie Brown, Clarendon, Nneka Ogwumike and Chiney Ogwumike.
“I feel that we have a unit that can find disruption and find opportunities to really dictate what we want to…
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