Sparks can't keep pace in third quarter and lose to Wings
Arike Ogunbowale made five three-pointers and finished with 27 points, Marina Mabrey scored a season-high 21 points and the Dallas Wings used a third-quarter run to take control in their 92-82 win over the Sparks on Sunday.
Allisha Gray had 20 points, a season-high 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals for Dallas. Kayla Thornton added 15 points for Dallas (8-8). The Wings have won back-to-back games after losing four in a row and six of the last seven.
Katie Lou Samuelson made a pull-up jumper to give the Sparks a 45-43 lead with about a minute left in the first half but Dallas scored the final seven points of the half — capped by Gray’s three-point play with 0.7 seconds left — to take a five-point lead into the break and the Wings never again trailed.
The Sparks made just one of 10 from the field and committed five turnovers over six minutes to start the third quarter while Dallas used a 16-4 run to stretch its lead to 66-49 when Marina Mabrey sank a three-pointer midway through the quarter.
Nneka Ogwumike led Los Angeles (5-9) with 17 points on six-of-seven shooting and 10 rebounds. Brittney Sykes added 16 points while Chiney Ogwumike had 12 and Samuelson 11.
The Sparks, who had a five-game losing streak earlier this season, have lost three in a row.
Ogunbowale is averaging 26.3 points on 49% shooting from the field over the last three games. She has made 15 of 27 (55.6%) from three-point range during that span.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
