LOS ANGELES -- This was a much better contest than the one on Thursday.
Unfortunately for the Sparks, the result was the same.
Angel Reese seemed to grab the ball every time it was in the air. She would end the game with a record 26 rebounds and the Dream defeated the Sparks in a hard-fought match, 78-71.
The Sparks only outrebounded Reese by herself, 32-26, which sounds ridiculous.
"She's elite," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said about Reese. "Did we miss her a couple times on the boards? Eight offensive rebounds is a ton. But I think she's the best in the world at it. I really do. I think she has a way of... her timing is good, she's strong, she's got great physicality, but she knows how to kind of lean to kind of get you out of position to where you can now jump and do it. She does a good job tipping it kind of to herself. She's good. Could we have done a better job? Certainly. But you also have to tip your hat to who I think is one of the best rebounders in the world."
Nneka Ogwumike did have an outstanding game herself. A vintage performance as some might say.
"It feels like a blessing," Ogwumike said about retiring at the top of her game. "I've always been kind of the type of player that said that I didn't want to get dragged off the court. But I do feel like what I do have left I'm pouring into these last few games and I'm grateful to be doing it in this uniform. And also to be, you know, being able to hopefully impact some of my teammates, most especially (Cameron Brink) here. We have a very unique and very special sisterly bond. However, I can imprint some level of inspiration for her and my teammates on my way out is really what I want to do."
Brink followed up on that.
"Like Nneka said, we have such a great bond," Brink said. "I think I look to her for a lot of strength and she's so amazing at encouraging me. There was a couple plays where I wanted her to be the one to set a down screen for the post-up look and she was like, 'no, you go.' And I was like, 'oh, sure, man.' And so I feel like I get really emotional thinking that I'm not going to have that next year with you. But I do know I'm going to always be able to call on you for that. So it's not just Nneka; it's everybody. But I think just leaning on my people has been really important."
As for the Dream (25-13), they were able to get out of the first half deficit and go on an 18-6 run that started with Naz Hillmon's three before the end of the second quarter. The Dream did not relinquish the lead after that.
"I think we were missing shots. And that got them out playing a little looser," Roberts said. "It's a really good team. And they regrouped at halftime and came out and kind of punched us there in the third. And I will say there was a moment there where these guys could have packed it in or just kind of gone through the motions and they didn't. And we have not all season long. And I do think that's a credit to Nneka, to the leaders of this group, that they're not going to let that happen. So, yeah, they're a good team, right? And they came out a little more organized there in the third. And we just didn't have a great shooting night if you look at the percentages.
"But I thought our process was good, what we were trying to do on offense," Roberts continued. "The ball was trying to be moved. They were looking for each other. Sometimes, it just doesn't bounce your way."
Neither team had a great shooting night: Dream shot .400 while the Sparks went .388 from the field. It's the three-point shooting that betrayed the Sparks once again: they went 3 for 18 (.167) while Atlanta wasn't much better at 6 for 29 (.207). But it was Angel Reese's work on the glass that dominated the game.
Reese also scored 11 points to get her 27th double-double of the season. That's one short of tying the record set by Alyssa Thomas for most double-doubles (28) in a season. Allisha Gray led the Dream in scoring with 20 points.
That vintage performance by Ogwumike went for 27 points and 16 rebounds. Dearica Hamby and Brink each scored 15 points. Brink also tied her career-high with five blocks. Los Angeles was without Rae Burrell, who missed her first game of the season due to an illness.
The Sparks (13-25) have one more game in their home stand as they take on the Washington Mystics on Friday. After that, they'll have one more game on the road (in Seattle) before they take their World Cup break for the next two and a half weeks.