Two points down, then never again
Connecticut scored the opening basket. That was the last time the Los Angeles Sparks trailed. A 12-2 run midway through the first quarter, seven of those points from Rae Burrell, opened a gap that stayed in double figures for most of the night and ended as a 77-68 win overnight in Los Angeles.
Burrell finished with a game-high 20 points. She also had three blocks, two of them inside the final minute when Connecticut were still theoretically alive. The Sparks arrived on a six-game losing run, matching their longest of the season, and they had been leaking points at an alarming rate.
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The defensive night they had been waiting for
Los Angeles held the Sun to 26 of 74 from the floor, their stingiest defensive performance of the campaign. Connecticut went 4 of 24 from three. The Sparks made 8 of 18 from the same range, with Erica Wheeler hitting three of her six attempts on the way to 11 points.
Four starters reached double figures. Dearica Hamby added 10 and Nneka Ogwumike posted 11 points and 11 rebounds, leading Los Angeles to a 40-30 edge on the glass. That advantage mattered, because the Sparks coughed the ball up 24 times and Connecticut turned those giveaways into 30 points, close to half their total.
A late wobble that went nowhere
The lead reached 22 before Los Angeles went cold in the fourth quarter. Saniya Rivers, off the bench, kept the Sun breathing with 14 points and four steals. Her takeaway and jumper on the next possession with 1:52 left cut the margin into single digits.
Connecticut did not score again. Burrell’s two blocks in the closing minute shut the door and the Sun finished on 9-27. Los Angeles move to 13-24, which changes nothing about their season but plenty about the mood in the building.
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