Cameron Brink scores career high but Sparks fall short against Wings
LOS ANGELES — Cameron Brink scored a career-high 21 points but Sparks could not overcome the Wings’ balanced scoring output, in which all five starters reached double figures before the fourth quarter, losing 84-83 at Crypto.com Arena Sunday night.
“It felt like every other game. I think I just took the shots that were open and obviously it didn’t end the way we wanted it to so it doesn’t feel great,” Brink said. “It’s motivation for the next game.”
The Sparks, who are on a two-game losing streak, nearly pulled off a furious fourth-quarter comeback, even leading 78-76 with 4:01 to go.
“I thought we had a few empty possessions,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said postgame. “Maybe not exactly the shots we wanted. I thought we might have been able to move the ball one more and get into another action.
“You have to score down the stretch against that team. There’s not a better closer in our league than Arike (Ogunbowale) and then in close games their differentiator is their offensive rebounding opportunities.”
However, the Wings battled back, outrebounding the Sparks by a 44-37 margin across 40 minutes, including 16-10 on the offensive boards. Brink missed a potentially game-tying corner 3-pointer with 21 seconds to go. Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, who finished with a team-high 20 points on 7 of 30 shooting, made one of two free throws, which put her team up 84-80 with 16.1 seconds remaining. Sparks guard Lexie Brown made a 3-pointer with one second to go, pulling within 84-83. The Wings, who shot 42.1% from the field compared to the Sparks 39.5%, inbounded the ball and ran out the remaining time to secure the victory.
Brink, the team’s No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft scored 12 of the Sparks’ first 14 points. However, she got into foul trouble early and picked up her second personal foul with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
Sparks forward Dearica Hamby had her fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Sparks center Li Yueru finished with a career-high 10 points and 9 rebounds.
“We’ve got to not let them leak away from us early and then does the back-to-back catch up to them late with our home crowd and our energy and desire to get to the finish line,” Miller said before the game.
The Sparks trailed 70-63 heading into the fourth quarter. A nice move for a layup by Yueru cut it to 72-67 with 7:37 to go. A nice assist from Sparks forward Stephanie Talbot to Hamby cut it to 72-69. Hamby made one of two free throws to pull within 72-70 with 6:08 remaining. A huge rebound and putback by Wings forward Monique Billings, who the Sparks waived earlier this month in training camp, made it 74-70. A 3-pointer by Sparks guard Aari McDonald, who finished with nine points off the bench, cut it to 74-73.
“It’s been rough for me. I’ve just been learning but just staying confident and keep working on my game, keep asking questions so I think that helped me and I finally got my moment so it’s great moving forward,” McDonald said postgame.
A three-point play by Yueru tied the game at 76. A layup by Hamby put the Sparks up 78-76 with 4:01 to go.
The Wings retook an 81-78 lead on a floater and two made free throws by Billings. Brink made two free throws to cut it to 81-80. The Sparks defense later forced a three-second violation but Talbot missed what would have been a go-ahead jump shot with one minute to go.
A putback reserve layup by Wings forward Maddy Siegrist put her team up 83-80 with 36 seconds left in the game.
The Wings (3-2) were led inside by Billings with a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Maddy Siegrist had 15 points. Teaira McCowan had 12 points. Sevgi Uzun added 11 points.
The Sparks (1-4) will next play at Indiana Fever (1-6) on Tuesday, in a rematch of Friday’s 78-73 loss in front of a sellout crowd of 19,103.
Meanwhile, Sparks rookie forward Rickea Jackson (No. 4 pick), who scored her only four points of the game to close out the first against Dallas, has been asked to play multiple positions this season, while serving as the team’s primary scoring option off the bench.
“I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable with it every day,” Jackson said before the game. “When I first got here, my head was about to explode, going at a fast pace, trying to learn everything from multiple positions, that was pretty tough but I’m so glad that I have the vets that I have. Everyone on the team is so welcoming. They’re always helping me. They’ve been through it before, so having that has helped me a ton.”
“I’m just trying to play as hard as I can and come off the bench, doing what’s asked of me,” Jackson added.
However, Jackson started the second half, instead of starting point guard Layshia Clarendon, who was ruled out at halftime due to a concussion. McDonald was later inserted and sparked the team’s comeback with offensive production and on-ball defensive pressure at the point guard position.
The Wings were coming off a 107-92 win at Phoenix Saturday night, in which Ogunbowale scored 40 points, including 7 of 12 from 3-point rang, so keep the three-time All-Star in check was a priority.
The game was tied at 27 heading into the second quarter. The Wings then went on an 11-3 run and took a 38-30 lead on a corner jump shot by Ogunbowale with 5:47 left in the second.
With the Sparks trailing 42-37 with 2:52 to go before halftime, Sparks Coach Miller picked up a technical foul after arguing with a referee during a timeout. Ogunbowale made the technical free throw.
The Sparks trailed 49-42 at halftime. Brink had 15 points in the first half. However, the Sparks shot 33.3% from the field, only making 15 of 45 attempts. They also struggled to contain Wings forward Maddy Siegrist, who scored 10 points in the first half on 5 of 7 shooting.
Meanwhile, the Wings knew before the game they would be shorthanded against the Sparks with a nine-player rotation, including three reserve rookies; Jacy Sheldon, Stephanie Soares and Lou Lopez Senechal.
“It’s about us and taking care of business and what we do in our system,” said Wings coach Latricia Trammell who spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Sparks from 2019-22.