Jul 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Sparks forward Rickea Jackson (2) is defended by Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike (3) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Both the Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks seek their first win in over a month as they square off on Sunday in a Western Conference clash in Arlington, Texas.
The spiraling squads are separated by a half-game at the bottom of the WNBA standings. Dallas is in 11th place with 12 games remaining, while Los Angeles sits in last with 11 contests left.
The Wings (6-22) have dropped six of their past seven outings and all three contests since returning from the month-long All-Star and Olympic breaks.
Dallas has lost those three outings by an average of 15.3 points per game, most recently a 79-71 setback on Thursday in the second of a road back-to-back against the league-leading New York Liberty.
Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 19 points in Thursday’s loss, marking the 19th time this season that she has been Dallas’ leading scorer.
Natasha Howard added 16 points and eight rebounds, Teaira McCowan had 14 points and eight boards, and Satou Sabally hit for 10 points for the Wings. Dallas made just two of 13 shots from beyond the arc.
“We are just taking it game by game,” Sabally said. “We need to set the groundwork and set the expectations for ourselves. We need to set our identity and play to that because we are so talented and we can win the rest of our games.”
Sunday’s contest is the first of a five-game homestead for the Wings.
The Sparks (6-23) head to Texas to finish a four-game road trip that included an 80-74 loss against the Washington Mystics on Friday.
Los Angeles has lost six straight games and eight of its past nine outings, with its most recent victory coming at Dallas on July 13.
Rookie Rickea Jackson scored 17 points to lead the Sparks in Friday’s loss, but she had just one point in the second half. It was Jackson’s third straight game leading her team in scoring after doing so just once in the squad’s first 26 games.
Dearica Hamby added nine points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles in the setback.
“There’s no moral victories, so as the losses accumulate, it’s hard on all of us,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said. “But I’m really impressed with how (our players have been) able to stay focused on the little pieces of building something that we think can happen down the line.”
Los Angeles has defeated Dallas in two of the teams’ first three meetings this season.
–Field Level Media
