Los Angeles, CA – Angel Reese was in her grocery bag against the LA Sparks Sunday afternoon at Crypto Arena eating up boards and buckets in front of a huge crowd whom many came to salute the retired 2x WNBA champion, Candace Parker, as she we watched two of her former teams battle before the Chicago Sky soared for the win, 92-85.
“Angel Reese is unbelievable on rebounding. And you can talk about it, and you can watch it, and you can drill it. There’s no way to duplicate it, to prepare,” coach Lynne Roberts said. “Her motor is so high, and I have a lot of respect for her as a competitor.”
Both LA Sparks and Chicago Sky share several similarities this season including current records, roster matchups, key players missing due to overseas commitment, and hosting a Candace Parker’s jersey retirement celebration as the Sparks kicked theirs off today with season ticket holders comedian Leslie Jones along with Love & Basketball director, Gina Prince Bythwood in attendance celebrating alongside Parker’s “vet” Hall-of-famer, 4x Olympic Lisa Leslie, whom opened the half time celebration with a personal introduction and praise for her “rookie.”
“The bigger victory today is the celebration of her [Candace Parker] and we would’ve of loved to because we wanted to win for her,” Coach Roberts said. “So it’s disappointing, extra disappointing, but I don’t want our play to take away from what an incredible human being and basketball player Candace is and what she has meant to our sport.”
Today’s game fell nothing short of honoring what Parker meant to both teams, this league, and the game of basketball, seeing her legacy in many of the players on each ends of the court playing now, as Sky’s Reese and Sparks’ Dearica Hamby both posted double-doubles in a versatile style seen familiar in Parker’s career.
“[Candace Parker]’s always been a mentor for me in that way. She made being a mom cool, and that it was possible to do both,” Hamby said. “I’m grateful for her and our friendship.”
“For me, [Candace Parker] made it cool, not just to be a mom, but also to be a post player able to shoot the three and bring the ball up,” Emma Cannon added. “She allowed me to broaden my game, and I appreciate her for that.”
Sparks Azura Steven’s another one of those Parker’s phenotype players, led her team in the first quarter with eight points, three rebounds and two assists throughout five lead changes before closing the quarter with the Sparks’ one point advantage, 18-17.
Sky responded in the second quarter after missing all of their three attempts in the first, found a bank open with back to back triples from starting guard, Rachel Banham, to put her team up, 23-20.
“We’ve got to be tougher — sustained runs, handle adversity, handle performance issues, or bad calls,” coach Roberts said. “In this league, the tougher team wins, and I don’t just mean physically.”
Sparks fought back to remain close in the game with Cannon coming off the bench and knocking down her first three-pointer of the game assisted by Rickea Jackson. Both teams picked up their intensity making the game more physical and dynamic with eight lead changes. Sparks went cold in last two minutes of the 2nd quarter, entering halftime down by six, 40-34.
“I always stay ready so I don’t have to get ready,” Cannon said. “It’s tough, but I feel like every loss is a lesson, and I feel like we’re still building, and we’re gonna get to where we need to be…”
Sparks returned in the second half on a 24-4 run in the third, shifting the momentum and gaining their largest lead, 60-53. Sparks missed several simple opportunities to score and boost their lead despite scoring their most points in a quarter, 28 to take a one point lead, 62-61.
Kelsey Plum led her team on an off shooting night with 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Plum set a career high in free throws made with 12, hitting all of them. Hamby posted her 47th career double, double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Stevens added 17 points for the Sparks plus a career high four assists and six rebounds. Cannon stepped up for her team with a season high 15 points off 6-for-7 shooting.
“I think it’s always physical, and I think both ways it was physical tonight,” Hamby said. Obviously, we’d love to have a win. If I can consistently play like that, I think we’ll be in good shape.”
While Hamby struggled early against Reese’s tenacity, Cannon accepted the hard challenge of containing Reese for the rest of the game which at times her veteran experience appeared to work to her advantage, frustrating the second year All Star forward somewhat enough to pick up a technical foul.
Reese bounced back from that emotional moment and finished with a dominant 24 points and 16 rebounds, breaking as well as setting multiple records, in particularly one that only two players have achieved which both happen to be in the building the night though retired, Leslie and Parker, respectively.
“I just feel like we have to learn how to finish games, and it’s not necessarily what the other team does, it’s just about us actually digging in and buying in and finishing it,” Sparks Emma Cannon explained. “That’s something that we’re working on. We’ve been playing a great 30 minutes, but we have to put it all together.”
Sparks will have a couple of days to recharge for their next game of the week in New York, on July 3rd to face the defending WNBA champs Liberty and another top power forward in the league, Breanna Stewart, after racing against Reese’s motor.
