LOS ANGELES — This had to be a big relief for the Sparks.
The pendulum stopped swinging. With a good balance of offensive firepower and defensive prowess, the Sparks (5-6) finally put together a complete game at home. The team from the City of Angels pulled away in the second half and put the Fire (6-7) out with an 89-72 victory.
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The Sparks held the Portland Fire to 29 points and forced them to 14 turnovers after halftime.
“It wasn’t anything crazy at halftime,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts answered after asked about what was said during halftime. “I think you get a better feel of what the game plan was and we just locked in. I think defensively, giving up 12 points in that third quarter and 29 in the second half, we did the things we were supposed to do. And I was proud of the effort defensively. (The Fire) had 11 (offensive) boards at halftime. They only had 3 in the second half. That was huge. In big part to (Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby), just the rebounding, 17 and 12 (respectively). Dee didn’t have a single offensive rebound in the half. And she had 6 in the second half. Those are game-winning plays. Nneka was just unbelievable down there on the glass. So those two held it down and defensively we were much, much better.”
Ogwumike basically said to leave it all on the court.
“(In) that fourth quarter, I think we were motivated,” Ogwumike said about their defense. “We were playing for each other. Offense is offense but defense is really where it’s at. And today I think we did a really good job of not leaving any gas in the tank on the defensive end.”
The Sparks have not been great at home (2-5 after the win) and they faced similar challenges last season. Ogwumike made a note of how important winning at home was.
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“Winning at home is imperative,” Ogwumike said. “And it’s not just because you need a win at home but when it gets down to the season, you’re playing for home court advantage because there is an advantage there. We have a very iconic arena as well. There’s so much here that the fans bring. It’s important that we are able to generate and maintain the focus that it requires to win at home. Because we’ve shown that we can win on the road. The system is a bit more insular when you’re on the road. So we want to be able to create that same focus, laser focus, when we’re at home to be able to win. And I think today was a good start.”
The defense was great for the Sparks in the first half and even better in the second. The Fire would only end up shooting .361 from the field and that kind of stingness on the defensive end is what the Sparks are capable of. But can they do it on a consistent basis?
“We’ve been close with a couple of the losses where we didn’t do that,” Coach Roberts said about following the game plan for all 40 minutes. “The basketball gods will make you pay if you don’t do things right. And so we need to build on it. But like I said earlier, we have to collectively, as a staff, as players choose to do it every game. And I think what (Nneka) has said, too, about just leaving it all out there, not saving anything, not playing it safe, just emptying your tank, I think that’s what it feels like. And then you feel better about how you play when you empty it all out there and you give it everything you’ve got for each other. So that’s what we need to build on. And today’s a good step but lots more to go.”
Stopping a three-game losing streak is certainly a great first step.
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Hamby had 22 points and 12 rebounds while Ogwumike was a steady presence throughout the game with 20 points and a glass-breaking 17 boards. Kelsey Plum came on in the second half with 13 of her 16 points in the second half.
As for the Portland Fire, they were led by Pancake’s mom, Megan Gustafson, with 16 points and 11 boards. Emily Engstler and Carla Leite were the only other players that had double figs at 10 points each. Sarah Ashlee Barker, who made her first return to Los Angeles since the expansion draft, scored six points and seven assists in her second start of the season.
The next step for the Sparks is to go back on the road, where they undoubtedly do better (a 3-1 slate). They’re going to go to the Pacific Northwest first to Seattle to face the Storm and start a three-game trip.
Can they stand the rain on Wednesday?
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