Kelsey Plums return cant reverse Sparks slide

Not even Kelsey Plum’s return may overcome the desire of the Dallas Wings on Friday evening.

Although the WNBA’s main scorer returned from an ankle injury to rating 27 factors, the Sparks still let a winnable sport get away from them in a 104-96 loss. It marked their first three-game shedding streak since June of last yr.

The Sparks’ offense regarded a lot better than it did in Tuesday’s 79-69 loss to Las Vegas, but it struggled in the fourth quarter, permitting Dallas (7-3) an alternative to storm back and win.

“The ball was moving, we had balanced scoring, five players in double figures, that’s how we want to play,” coach Lynne Roberts said. “Dallas is a good team. I think in the last four minutes they kind of willed it to happen for them, and we didn’t, and that’s unfortunate.”

The Sparks (4-6) had no solutions for the three-headed assault of Arike Ogunbowale, Paige Bueckers and Jessica Shepard, who spearheaded the Wings’ 63% taking pictures effort in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

The Sparks entered the sport with the WNBA’s worst defensive score, and they allowed more than 100 factors for a league-worst third time.

“They just had some really timely, kind of what I call 50-50 plays, could go either way, went their way, and they capitalized on it,” Roberts said. “So you have to tip your hat to them. We didn’t win the last three, four minutes, and it cost us. It’s a game of runs. They made the last run.”

The Sparks led by 9 factors in the second quarter but surrendered the lead late in the quarter as the Wings capitalized on 55% taking pictures to cut their deficit to one by halftime.

The Sparks led 78-77 going into the fourth after a back-and-forth third quarter, but Dallas went on a 15-5 run to lead by eight. It was the only cold quarter for the Sparks, who scored just 18 factors, with more than half of their offense coming from Plum.

“It’s just mental toughness,” Sparks ahead Dearica Hamby said. “Rebounds, helping the strong side [defensively] when we shouldn’t be. Just little things that we could have had more control over. We have to be more disciplined to finish a game.”

It was a two-point sport with under two minutes to play when Ogunbowale collected a rebound off her own shot to give the Wings a two-possession lead before Plum missed a three-pointer and a free throw.

Nneka Ogwumike notched a double-double with 13 factors and 10 rebounds while Ariel Atkins scored 16 factors. Hamby scored 15 factors on six-for-eight taking pictures, a strong bounce-back efficiency after taking pictures 0 for 7 against the Aces.

“We’re all just kind of trying to figure it out, adding new pieces,” she said. “I definitely felt more natural the first half, back to just having more of an open floor, but we’ll continue to build off that trust.”

Ogunbowale scored a game-high 30 factors and made six three-pointers. Bueckers had career-high 14 assists and Shepard completed with 22 factors with 15 rebounds.

“It’s a team thing,” Atkins said of the protection. “We have to pay attention to the details of the game and [be] sticking with the scout.”

Wings guard Odyssey Sims left the court in a wheelchair in the second quarter after she twisted her left ankle coming down from a rebound attempt; she didn’t return. In the fourth, Aziaha James had to be carried off by her teammates after she obtained hit laborious by an Ogwumike screen.

The Sparks will host the enlargement Portland Fire (6-6) on Sunday, who misplaced a tight sport against Phoenix on Friday evening but have been an electric group offensively.

Perhaps the scoring woes are over with Plum back in the lineup, but the Sparks still appear a long manner off from discovering their footing.

“We’re going to keep building,” Hamby said. “We have another game in two days, then the next four or five games are definitely winnable, so carry over the positives from this game.”