Rae Burrell scored 20 points and the Los Angeles Sparks led the visiting Connecticut Sun nearly wire-to-wire en route to a 77-68, slump-ending win on Saturday.
Los Angeles (13-24) surrendered the game’s first two points, which was the only time the Sparks trailed. A 12-2 run midway through the first quarter, during which Burrell poured in seven of her game-high in points, opened up a lead that remained at a double-digit margin much of the night.
The Sparks came into Saturday’s contest on a six-game losing skid, matching their longest of the season, having struggled mightily on the defensive end. But against Connecticut (9-27), Los Angeles delivered its stingiest effort of the season thanks to holding the Sun to just 26-of-74 shooting from the floor.
Connecticut shot a woeful 4 of 24 from 3-point range, while the Sparks knocked down 8 of 18 from beyond the arc. Erica Wheeler’s 3-of-6 shooting from outside paced Los Angeles, and she finished with 11 points to join three fellow starters scoring in double-figures.
Dearica Hamby scored 10 points to complement Burrell and Wheeler, and Nneka Ogwumike posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Ogwumike led Los Angeles to a 40-30 edge on the glass, which helped the Sparks negate a dismal 25 turnovers.
Connecticut scored almost half of its points cashing in on Los Angeles giveaways, putting up 30 points off turnovers. The Sparks went cold in the fourth quarter offensively, allowing the Sun to chip away at a deficit that had been as large as 22 points.
Saniya Rivers came off the bench to lead Connecticut on both ends of the floor, scoring 14 points and swiping four steals. Her takeaway and jumper on the ensuing change of possession with 1:52 remaining cut the Los Angeles lead to a single-digit margin.
However, the Sun could not score again the rest of the way. Burrell put an exclamation point on her individual performance and put the win away in the final minute when she blocked a pair of shot attempts, the last of her three blocks overall for the game.
–Field Level Media
