Nneka Ogwumike sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the host Los Angeles Sparks rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the New York Liberty 98-97 on Sunday night.
After Breanna Stewart split a pair of free throws to put New York up 97-95 with 8.6 seconds left in regulation, Los Angeles guard Erica Wheeler raced up the court and was able to find Ogwumike open on the wing for the winning basket from 26 feet away.
Ogwumike tied her season high with 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field. The Sparks (8-8) also got double-figure scoring from Rae Burrell (19), Wheeler (15), Kelsey Plum (12) and Dearica Hamby (12), who also had a team-high eight boards.
Six players scored in double figures for New York (11-6), led by 18 points each from Stewart and Jonquel Jones. Stewart also grabbed 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.
New York opened the third with a 12-7 run to go up 67-50 with just over seven minutes remaining in the quarter. Los Angeles was able to rally and trim the deficit to six points, 76-70, by the end of the quarter as Burrell scored seven points.
The Sparks tied the contest at 84 in the fourth quarter on a Wheeler 3-pointer and took just their second lead of the game on an Ogwumike layup with 3:50 to go.
The Liberty regained the lead 92-90 on a driving layup by rookie guard Pauline Astier with 1:43 remaining. Ogwumike came back to tie the game before two Astier free throws put New York up 95-93 with 1:18 to go.
Sparks star guard Plum, who missed the last game while dealing with an ankle sprain, made only one 3-pointer on seven attempts en route to 12 points. Plum also handed out seven assists in her 36 minutes of playing time.
Liberty forward Satou Sabally played a season-high 27 minutes and scored 14 points with a team-high seven assists. Astier scored 17 points off of the New York bench.
The league celebrated the anniversary of the WNBA’s debut game between the Liberty and Sparks on June 21, 1997, and commemorated the league’s 30th season. Throughout the evening, former members of the Liberty and Sparks organizations were honored on the television broadcast and by fans in the arena.
–Field Level Media
