ARLINGTON, Tex. -- It was a tale of two halves for the Los Angeles Sparks.
In the first half, it seemed like they carried their momentum from their previous four games, when they went 3-1 and were the second best defensive team in the last 10 days of WNBA play. But the Sparks ended up having many giveaways in that third and the well went dry for the team. A 12-0 run by the Wings in the second half broke the game and they kept piling it on in the fourth. The Wings would win this going away, 97-77.
Dallas outrebounded Los Angeles, 46-27. The Sparks couldn't cash anything in the second half and that led to caroms for the Wings.
"I thought we had a good first half," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. "Poor shooting night (37 percent overall by the Sparks compared to 51 by the Wings). Second half, we felt like we couldn't buy a bucket.
"(We got) outrebounded by 19," Sparks coach Lynne Roberts would go on. " But also there's a lot of... if we're missing, there's an opportunity for rebounds, right? Great shooting night, there's not as many board opportunities. So I don't read too much into that. It's more, you know, the third quarter... I felt like the last three, four minutes, we couldn't buy a bucket. And then it just kind of felt like the wheels fell off a little bit."
This is Nneka Ogwumike's last WNBA game in Texas. Ogwumike is from Houston and she cherished her last game in the state.
"It feels real, actually, you know," Ogwumike said. "I'm very grateful to have been able to do this on my own terms and also have the opportunity to come back not too far away from where I grew up to play in front of friends and family. You know, I always have a big group of people that support me down here. And, yeah, I'm just happy to be healthy and competing still at this level and enjoying every moment along the way."
A media member brought up another great Nigerian basketball player in Hakeem Olajuwon, who won two championships with the Houston Rockets.
"(Olajuwon) was a name that we heard a lot growing up," Ogwumike said. "And then, of course, being able to play and be watching the Comets. And, you know, I come from a very rich basketball community. Houston, when I was playing, you know, girls' basketball was huge. And being able to be in those environments, being able to be poured into, you know, of course, through my family and my coaches and so many different mentors along the way, they really shaped my career. So I'm just happy that I'm able to still share those people that were there from the start."
With her career winding down, Ogwumike cherishes the experience of playing with her younger teammates.
"I think those are kind of the small things that you can really be mindful of," Ogwumike said. "You have Shyanne (Sellers) getting her first career bucket. It's like... that's very, very huge. And being able to play out here with a lot of the younger players. (Aaliyah Nye)'s been here for a couple years. So to have her on this squad right now and just have another sniper and somebody who's mature and knows the game is incredibly important, especially as I kind of head out.
"You know, I want to still compete at a high level, hopefully set a precedent so that there's some type of muscle memory for how they approach the game. And I think right now, I'm really spending a lot of my time trying to point to (Cameron Brink) as well because I really do think that she's the future of the league, along with so many others, and especially this organization. So I'm happy to be able to leave whatever I can left before I, you know, throw my feet up."
Nye revealed a memory she had with Ogwumike.
"I've learned a lot from Nneka," Nye admitted, who made two threes in her Sparks debut. "She's a great leader. She's always coaching us in practice. And one special memory I feel like I have with her is on Draft Day... I was working out in the morning and I actually seen Nneka in the gym. It was my first time meeting her. And I told her I was there for the draft. And she just gave me encouraging words. So that's something that I'll remember forever. And I appreciate her for just introducing herself and coming to talk to me that day."
While the game itself didn't go the way they wanted, it was still an important one as Ogwumike finishes up her illustrious WNBA career.
Paige Bueckers led six players in double figs with 19 points. Jessica Shepard went 13-11-12 as she got her fifth triple-double of the season.
Ogwumike led, of course, the Sparks in scoring with 18 while Dearica Hamby had 14 and Rae Burrell had 12. The two Sparks newcomers Nye and Sellers had six and four points, respectively.
The Sparks are 15-26. They have three games left in the season.
And three left in Nneka Ogwumike's WNBA career.