Nneka Ogwumike became just the fourth player in WNBA history to reach 8,000 career points on Sunday as the Los Angeles Sparks rolled over the visiting Portland Fire 105-84.
Playing in her penultimate home game before retirement, Ogwumike shined with 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. She reached the 8,000-point milestone in the second quarter, scoring off an offensive rebound from a missed Shyanne Sellers 3-point attempt.
Ogwumike joined Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer; Tina Charles, who scored her 8,000th point last season; and DeWanna Bonner, who joined the 8,000-point club in July.
The historic putback bucket was also part of a 12-0 run for the Sparks (16-26), giving them what remained a double-digit lead the rest of the way. The gap grew to as many as 24 points midway through the third quarter on the strength of a quick 7-0 Los Angeles burst, ignited on the third of Erica Wheeler’s three made 3-pointers on the day.
Los Angeles effectively spread its scoring production among five Sparks in double-figures and nine players with at least six points.
Rae Burrell matched Ogwumike’s team-high of 20 points, Ariel Atkins scored 14 points and Emma Cannon finished with 10 points. Chance Gray came off the bench to add 11 points, nine of which came from her 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
Eight Sparks made at least one triple, and four connected on multiple, as Los Angeles made 14 of 29 threes (48.3%) while Portland was 6-of-27 from outside the arc (22.2%).
The Fire (16-27) leaned on Carla Leite’s game-high 23 points, netted on a combination of 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and 8-of-12 at the free-throw line. The rest of the Portland roster shot just 21-of-54 from the floor (38.9%).
Charisma Osborne scored 13 points off the bench in the loss. Megan DiLeo added 11 points with a team-high five rebounds, and Emily Engstler scored 10 points.
–Field Level Media
