Nneka Ogwumike scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and made five assists to lead the Los Angeles Sparks to a 105-84 victory over the Portland Fire on Sunday night. With this performance, Ogwumike became the fourth player in WNBA history to surpass 8,000 career points, joining Diana Taurasi (10,646), Tina Charles (8,396), and DeWanna Bonner (8,217). She now has a total of 8,013 points this season, marking her 18th double-double, the highest in her career.
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During the game, the Sparks honored former player Lisa Leslie, unveiling her statue outside Crypto.com Arena and celebrating her contributions during a halftime ceremony. Leslie, a three-time WNBA MVP, played for the Sparks from 1999 to 2007 and helped lead the team to consecutive championships in 2001 and 2002. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
In addition to Ogwumike, Rae Burrell also contributed with 20 points, while Ariel Atkins scored 14 and Chance Gray added 11 for the Sparks, who now hold a 16-26 record. The Fire, currently 16-27, have lost four consecutive games and seven of their past eight.
The Sparks took control of the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Fire 32-15 to go into halftime with a 60-41 lead. Tonie Morgan hit a crucial 3-pointer to briefly narrow the gap to 21-19 in the first quarter, but the Sparks maintained the lead from that point on. Carla Leite led Portland with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting, supported by Charisma Osborne with a career-high 13 points, Megan DiLeo with 11, and Emily Engstler with 10. The Sparks demonstrated effective shooting, finishing with 53% from the field, 48% from three-point range, and 86% from the free-throw line.
Bridget Carleton did not play for Portland due to an ankle injury, while the Sparks were without Dearica Hamby (knee) and Cameron Brink (ankle). The Fire will conclude their regular season at home against Golden State on Tuesday, while the Sparks travel to Las Vegas on the same day.