LOS ANGELES — In the Sparks’ second game against the same team in three days, they made it a collective mission to protect their homecourt advantage.
Nneka Ogwumike responded with 25 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks and Jordin Canada added 21 points and seven assists, as the Sparks made it a two-game winning streak with a convincing 81-68 victory over the Indiana Fever on Thursday.
Ogwumike’s strong all-around performance followed her season-high 30 points in a victory over Indiana on Tuesday, which broke the team’s franchise-record eight-game losing streak.
The Sparks improved to 9-15, including 7-6 this season at Crypto.com Arena.
Indiana (6-18) was led by former Sparks point guard Erica Wheeler with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Aliyah Boston, the top pick in the 2023 draft, had 12 points and six rebounds. Kristy Wallace added 13 points off the bench.
Canada’s buzzer-beating layup put the Sparks up 22-18 at the end of the first, which energized the young children comprising most of the crowd during the camp day game. The Sparks had six assists on their first nine made field goals.
Sparks backup point guard Jasmine Thomas added five inspired points early in the second quarter, including a three-point play, which put her team up 35-29 with 6:02 left in the first half. Thomas finished with eight points, two rebounds and two assists.
The Sparks led 45-39 at halftime, the same margin as their 24-18 points advantage in the paint in the first half. Ogwumike had 15 of those points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. The Sparks also had 13 assists on 17 made field goals at halftime, shooting 50% from the field.
Sparks rookie guard Zia Cooke, who finished with five points, received her third career start against Boston, her former South Carolina teammate Aliyah Boston. The 10th pick of the 2023 draft started in place of Lexie Brown, who missed Thursday’s game due to a non-COVID illness that has hampered her and…
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