Sparks bruised on the boards
There was no encore for Nneka Ogwumike, last year’s hero of the Finals. Hampered by foul trouble throughout Wednesday night’s game, Ogwumike fouled out with over five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Without her services, the interior presence for Los Angeles was noticeably thin.
“We tried to eliminate staying in a rotation as much as we could, tried to keep bigger bodies on them, but they were persistent, more persistent than we were,” Los Angeles head coach Brian Agler said.
How persistent? The Lynx held a 46-29 advantage on the boards, allowing them to pile up second chance points almost at will. Candace Parker tried her best to compensate with 19 points and 15 rebounds, but no other Sparks player had more than three rebounds.
The perimeter was just as unfriendly, with the Sparks making only 2 of 18 shots from three-point range.
“We rely more on our quickness and our mobility, where they rely a lot on their power and their structure, and so for us to play at the top of our game, we need to hit some perimeter shots,” Agler said.
The Sparks will have to wait until next year to knock down shots from long range, but they have plenty of fight left in perhaps the most competitive rivalry to date in the WNBA.