Nneka Ogwumike's clutch trey carries Sparks past Mystics

Nneka Ogwumike hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:51 left as the visiting Los Angeles Sparks outlasted the Washington Mystics for an 92-87 victory on Friday.

After missing the Sparks’ win over the Las Vegas Aces on May 23 due to a hand injury, Ogwumike returned to produce 20 points and 11 rebounds. The forward made 8 of 17 shots, including an uncontested trey from the left side that snapped an 81-81 tie.

Ogwumike’s clutch shot was needed because the Sparks squandered an eight-point lead in the final 4 1/2 minutes. Washington hit five free throws in a 12-4 run and tied the game on two free throws by Shakira Austin with 2:07 to go.

After Erica Wheeler found Ogwumike for the triple, the Austin committed a turnover and Wheeler converted an 8-footer following an offensive rebound with 1:10 left. The Mystics twice got within one point in the final 44 seconds but also missed a chance at tying the game when Kiki Iriafen was off target on a 3-point attempt with 6.3 seconds remaining.

Wheeler scored 14 of her 21 points in the fourth, and she finished with eight assists. Wheeler made 8 of 16 shots as Los Angeles hit 50% from the floor and scored 50 points in the paint during its first game without Kelsey Plum (ankle).

Reserve Cameron Brink added 16 points and Dearica Hamby contributed 14 points and nine assists to help the Sparks (4-3) win for the fourth time in five games.

Austin posted 25 points and 10 rebounds, but the Mystics (3-4) remained without consecutive victories this season. Sonia Citron added 21 points and eight assists while Iriafen logged 13 points as Washington shot 50.8% overall but missed 17 of 22 3-point tries.

The Mystics shot 64.7% and scored 20 points in the paint for a 25-21 lead through the opening quarter. The Sparks took a 32-29 lead on a 3-pointer by Brink with 3:07 remaining in the second quarter and got another trey from Brink with 17.7 seconds left for a 42-37 lead entering halftime.

After Citron’s basket put the Mystics up 52-51 with 5:50 left in the third, the Sparks briefly took control and held a 60-54 edge following two free throws by Brink. Austin’s basket made it a one-point game with 58 seconds left in the period before Chance Gray and Wheeler hit treys in the final 20.5 seconds to give the Sparks a 69-61 lead heading into the fourth.

–Field Level Media