For the first time in more than two weeks, the Sparks won a game.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 24 points with eight rebounds, Rae Burrell added 22 points and Dearica Hamby had 21 in what felt like a near must-win game against Indiana on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak, 106-92.
“I think people were tired of how we were losing,” Ogwumike said. “Not just losing, but how we were losing, and we knew that there was more that we could give. … I think we all individually held ourselves accountable to be able to do more, to pour more into what we got going on. I took it upon myself to try my best to like, you know, play harder in possessions.”
The Fever committed 17 turnovers, which the Sparks (9-11) converted into 22 points, and All-Star Caitlin Clark scored her second-fewest points this season with just nine in limited minutes while returning from injury. Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points for the Fever, but the Sparks seemed to have an offensive answer each time.
Indiana (12-9) was without star center Aliyah Boston (lower right leg), who Fever coach Stephanie White said would play in the second game of a back-to-back set Thursday in Phoenix. Clark, in and out of the lineup because of a back injury all season, never got going and was an abysmal minus-16.
Coming off an 18-point loss to Seattle at home on Monday, Ogwumike said that injured All-Star guard Kelsey Plum gave the team an inspired speech Tuesday.
“Everyone had a little bit of feedback that she gave, both encouragement and also points of improvement for each person, and I think it was received,” Ogwumike said. “It was received in a way that not only did we want to change how we, you know, approach today, but also to familiarize ourselves with sustaining the way that this feels moving forward.”
“KP lit a fire under our ass,” Burrell added.
All five Sparks starters scored in double digits, and the 106 points were the most the franchise has scored in a home game.
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever talks with teammates during the second quarter.
(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
“I’m happy we won, obviously, but I’m more happy with how we played,” coach Lynne Roberts said. “The response that we showed from just laying an egg on Monday to coming back and, you know, we talked about playing more connected, having a little more smarts out there, defensively emptying the tank, getting out and running and playing with pace.”
The Sparks rode a 16-2 run midway through the second quarter to lead by as many as eight before the half.
They didn’t slow down going into the third frame, opening with 18 points in the first five minutes to take a 13-point lead. Burrell and Kiana Williams hit consecutive threes late in the third after the Fever cut the lead to eight points, and it was never close again.
Plum (lower left leg) and center Cameron Brink (left ankle) remained out of the lineup, and the Sparks extended their bench to give significant minutes to Alissa Pili, Jihyun Park and Williams.
Pili, signed to a developmental deal this week, scored four points with five rebounds in her first WNBA action since last September because of a right ankle injury.
Wednesday’s win also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Fever dating to last season.
The Sparks will complete their three-game homestand against Chicago (7-14) on Friday.
“We wanted to play harder,” Ogwumike said. “We wanted to own each possession and to compete at every level for the full 40 minutes of play. It’s really that simple. I think when you put your heart into playing that hard, the schemes, the plays, the execution, it comes to fruition. And tonight, it felt good. It felt good emptying the tank.”