Los Angeles, CA – Without Sparks Kelsey Plum and without Aces Chennedy Carter, this Los Angeles and Las Vegas game would miss significant scoring prowess unlike their previous game at Michelob Ultra Arena as both teams at Crypto Arena found it challenging at times to put the ball in the basket despite Rae Burrell’s 22 points, four-time MVP Aja Wilson’s double-double, 25 points and 15 rebounds, gave her team a 79-69 advantage.
“We followed the game plan. We had a great scout, and we executed that. We just didn’t execute the offense, but holding [Las] Vegas to 79 at home, we got to win, right?” Sparks Head Coach Lynne Roberts said. “ We’ve got to be better offensively, and we’re going rogue sometimes and not executing, and it’s inexcusable.”
Sparks scored the first points of the game from a midrange baseline jumper by Nneka Ogwumike but after this short duration of a lead, the Aces took over the game. Jackie Young made sure history did not repeat itself after going scoreless for the second time this season in a game during these two teams’ second matchup, Jackie nailed her first shot of the game from deep early in the game, giving Vegas a 5-4 lead.
“I think basketball is where you’re going to go through some things,” Chelsea Gray said to FI360News during postgame presser. “Hers [Jackie Young] just happened early in the season. We’d rather that than we were talking in September, but you know, we have confidence in Jackie and she puts the work in and she relies on her work. We knew the tide was going to turn. You play the right way, you put the work in, everything will start clicking.”
Both teams would exchange baskets until Wilson cast away several Sparks defenders onto a one woman run, putting her team up, 37-30 while Burrell led Los Angeles with 11 points in the first half.
“Coach is right. We have to have an understanding of our roles on the offensive end, and tonight we definitely did not show that,” Ogwumike said. “The fight was there, but we have to give that fight some type of framework.”
The Sparks spent that third period trailing and falling further behind the Aces on a 14-4 run down 15, 57-42 with under 3:00 remaining in the period. By then Young reached double figures alongside Wilson while Ogwumike added to Burrell’s efforts with a perfect outing from the charity stripe to keep hope alive for her team entering the final quarter.
“It’s not often that you have a coach who will take that amount of responsibility for a game when we’re the ones out there playing,” Ogwumike said. “I just want to play harder. I want to be able to bring to life this system that she has for us, because we’ve seen it work this season.”
Sparks finished strong but could not overcome the deficit on top of the Aces making two critical plays in the remaining minutes of the game. A three-point swing caused by a monster block from Smith turned into a transitional layup by Wilson. Then Chelsea Gray sealed the game with a dagger from deep despite Erica Wheeler answering with a triple to bring the Sparks, 77-69. Smith followed, hitting a baseline floater for Aces to secure the win, 79-69.
