Los Angeles is one of the true contenders for the WNBA championship and proved
it with its season-opening win over defending champion Minnesota on Sunday. The
Sparks are looking to continue to take care of business when they square off
against the Indiana Fever on Tuesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Sparks have won 12 of their past 15 regular-season meetings against the
Fever dating to the 2011 season. Los Angeles had captured five of its last seven
regular-season road games at Indiana.
The Sparks head south and east to the heartland of America after a thrilling
77-76 win in the Twin Cities on Sunday in a rematch between the teams from last
season’s championship series.
Chelsea Gray scored had 18 points, including the game-winner in the lane at the
buzzer for short-handed Los Angeles.
“Chelsea is the game-winner queen,” said Odyssey Sims, who led the Sparks with
21 points. “I don’t know how she squeezed up and flipped it in. I still don’t
believe. I don’t even know how, but it was amazing.”
Nneka Ogwumike added 19 points and nine rebounds and Essence Carson had 10
points for the Sparks, who hit just 3 of 18 3-point shots.
Los Angeles played without star Candace Parker, who is out with a back injury.
The Sparks were also without Russian center Maria Vadeeva, a key offseason
acquisition who has not joined the team yet, and Jantel Lavender, who is also
still playing in Europe.
“We love Candace — she’s a heck of a player, one of the best in the league,”
Sparks coach Brian Agler said after the win over Minnesota. “But I just kind of
focus on the people that are here. That’s all we do.”
Indiana is 0-2 after losing to Washington 82-75 on Sunday afternoon in the
nation’s capital. Natalie Achonwa had career highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds
for the Fever.
Candice Dupree added 13 points and 10 boards for Indiana, which was within six
points with 1:25 to play. The double-double was the 65th of Dupree’s 13-year
career.
“I wanted to be more aggressive today,” Achonwa said after the loss, in which
she posted the first double-double of her career. “We played with more effort
and energy. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but we improved today.”
Indiana outrebounded Washington 39-27, which was the Fever’s largest rebound
margin in two seasons. They finished last in rebounding in the WNBA the past two
seasons.
Indiana missed nine of its 25 free throws and was just 5 of 15 from beyond the
arc. The Fever are a combined 8 of 30 from 3-point range in their first two
games.
Indiana coach Pokey Chatman said there were positives to take away from the loss
to Washington.
“I was pleased with our ability to bounce back,” Chatman said. “We got behind
but fought back. I thought Washington did well in not letting us gain any
momentum, but we made strides today.”
Indiana, whose roster has an average age of 25, played four rookies for the
second consecutive game, marking the first time at least four Fever rookies
played in the same game in back-to-back outings since Indiana’s first WNBA
season in 2000.
The Fever continue a brutal beginning stretch that includes three more games in
the next six days, including a rematch with the Mystics on Thursday.
