It was the Cameron Brink show as the rookie dominated the game. She ended with 21 points, going 3-5 from behind the arc, and three blocks. She also joined A’ja Wilson as the only WNBA players to score 12+ points with 2+ blocks in the first quarter of a game.
Dearica Hamby scored 19 points with 13 rebounds and four assists. Li Yueru had her strongest game of the season, scoring 10 points with nine rebounds.
Kia Nurse had a personal milestone of reaching 300 career assists, handing out three in total. LA’s bench was cooking Sunday night and they scored 27 points in total.
The Sparks started the game missing many shots, contrary to their usual fast offensive starts. Brink took over the offensive charge scoring five straight points, including a 3-pointer.
Neither team could distance themselves from the other. The Wings grabbed a lead of three but Hamby knocked down a layup as she was fouled and completed the 3-point play to tie the game. After LA took the lead by two, the Wings tied it to end the first quarter.
The Wings struck first to take the lead in the second quarter. They were knocking down their shots at a higher rate than the Sparks and pulled ahead by seven. The Sparks usually have better first halves, but they weren’t finding the special offensive magic and continued to miss easy shots.
Brink knocked down her third 3-pointer of the night to cut the deficit to five. A crafty layup by Zia Cooke helped LA pull within three. The Wings’ length was proving too tough for the Sparks to guard as they were able to pull ahead by five again.
With 55 seconds left, Yueru’s 3-point play made it a three-point game again, but the Wings closed the half strong to lead, 49-42.
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