Written By: Molly Tepper
Twitter: mollytepper
(Los Angeles, CA) On Thursday night, after the announcement of Nneka Ogwumike’s retirement, the Los Angeles Sparks (12-24) rough patch continued as they dropped one of their worst blowouts of the season to the Atlanta Dream (23-13), by a final score of 124-88. The 124 points were the highest total in Atlanta Dream franchise history and just one short of the WNBA record for a regulation game (125).
LA converted the first layup of the game, and then never took the lead again. Sloppy early choices, including missing easy layups on the Dream’s minimal turnovers and committing nine turnovers of their own by the end of the first, limited them to just 12 points in the quarter. They shot 31% from the field, and the struggles continued as they were unable to box out on Atlanta’s free throws. As Madina Okot missed her second free throw, Allisha Gray grabbed the offensive rebound as no Sparks players attempted to rebound, and Jordin Canada banked in a three, putting the Dream up 28-9. Rhyne Howard knocked down two more three-pointers, including one at the buzzer, to put them ahead 34-12 at the end of the first period.
Problems continued for Los Angeles as Angel Reese erupted in the second quarter. After scoring 10 points in the first four minutes, Reese would go on to score 20 points for the game, going 9-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from three, with ten rebounds and eight assists. Reese became the third player in WNBA history to have a 20-10 double-double with perfect field goal shooting (9-for-9), while the last player to do it was LA’s own Nneka Ogwumike. Additionally, her three offensive rebounds in the first half broke her own WNBA season record of 172 set in 2024.
Coach Lynne Roberts on Angel Reese:
“There’s always a lot of narrative about Angel, but man, she competes, and she plays so hard, and I respect the hell out of that. Even when she wasn’t in the game, she’s the loudest on the bench, and she’s a competitor. I just have a lot of respect for that.”
While the Sparks were able to regain some of their momentum from off the bench, they continued to struggle with errant passes and were never able to overcome the hole they dug themselves in the first quarter. The Dream shot an impressive 62% from three (16-26), and that almost perfect shooting set a tone LA could never climb back from.
A bright spot came off the bench from the play of Tonie Morgan and Chance Gray, who had eight points apiece. Nonetheless, it was not enough to close the gap against a Dream team that was doing everything right.
Chance Gray spoke about the different roles she’s played this season:
“Honestly, I look at it as a positive, being able to be utilized in different ways. I think that can be something that can help the team. So I’m ready to do whatever the team needs me to do in that moment, whether it’s be on the ball, just be a defender, be a spot-up shooter. I just try to play for my teammates, my coaches, as hard as I can, and that’s what I like to do.”
Coach Lynne Roberts commemorated the Dream’s night:
“I do want to give Atlanta Credit. They were good tonight, and their shooting to maintain that three-point shooting in about 40 minutes is impressive. They were really good, and so sometimes you just have to take it on the chin and turn the page.”
The Sparks will remain at home on Saturday to take on the Connecticut Sun at 6 p.m.
Photography Credits: LA Sparks/WNBA Photography
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