The Los Angeles Sparks started their season strong with a 94-71 victory over the Phoenix Mercury. The matchup was the first in-season game for Mercury center Brittney Griner since her 10-month detainment in Russia last year.
“Just a remarkable story to have her back in our league and back on the court,” Sparks head coach Curt Miller said. “She’s just a tremendous human, the sisterhood in the league is so strong and we are all so happy that she’s back.”
Griner led the team with 18 points as well as adding seven rebounds and four blocks. Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike led Los Angeles with 17 points and three steals. Center Chiney Ogwumike led with seven rebounds.
Mercury guard Diana Taurasi led all scorers with eight points in the first quarter. Los Angeles struggled early on offense. Nervousness was palpable for the Sparks, Nneka noted how she was rushing to start the game.
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“The energy here is always amazing, us being able to celebrate [Griner] being back, but also us ready to compete,” Nneka said. “I think everybody was locked in and focused. That’s been something that we’re very committed to is staying bought in.”
Rookie Zia Cooke scored 14 points in the second quarter alone, keeping the Sparks competitive. Nneka noted how she enjoys Cooke’s innocence regarding being on the pro level.
“It’s just really fun seeing her eyes light up in certain situations,” Nneka said. “I love that she is herself on the court and she wants to win.”
The Sparks pushed the pace throughout the game and they took care of the ball. While the Mercury made 19 turnovers, Los Angeles had six. Miller mentioned how difficult it is to cover live ball turnovers in the WNBA.
“We talked about offensive execution is our first line of defense,” he said. “If we don’t turn the ball over, we have the ability, even when we miss shots, to get our defense set.”
The Sparks’ home opener had a guest list of iconic proportions. Among the 10,396 people in attendance were sports icon Billie Jean King, South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, Lakers greats Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, Robert Horry, and Pau Gasol along with current head coach Darvin Ham. Even Vice President Kamala Harris was in attendance.
“It’s just amazing the experiences of what we do offers us,” Nneka said. “I hope [Griner] felt the love because everybody’s so happy to have her back.”
Among the five Sparks that scored in the double digits was forward Karlie Samuelson, who scored 13 points off the bench. After being waived by the Sparks, Samuelson signed a hardship contract with the franchise on Thursday.
“I don’t take any moment for granted, the W is the hardest league professional team to make,” Samuelson said. “It’s truly an honor to play with Nneka, the MVP of the league out there, on the court guarding Diana (Taurasi), [Griner’s] first game. I never dreamt of myself playing but I’ve known over the past couple of years I do belong in the league.”
The Sparks will battle the Las Vegas Aces at home on May 25 at 7:00P.M.
