LOS ANGELES — The Sparks knew they had to play better defense if they were going to end the team’s three-game losing streak against the Portland Fire.
They did that by holding Portland to 29 points in the second half.
“I think defensively, we did the things we’re supposed to do,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “I was proud of the effort.”
However, it was double-doubles by All-Star forwards Dearica Hamby with 22 points and 12 rebounds and Nneka Ogwumike with 20 points and 17 rebounds that also led the Sparks to an 89-72 victory against the Portland Fire at Crypto.com Arena Sunday.
“Just being super intentional about our spacing,” Hamby said, who had six offensive rebounds. “I feel like each game we’re still learning each other more and getting more comfortable.
Ogwumike, who also hauled in six offensive rebounds, said the Sparks were motivated to win.
“We were playing for each other,” Ogwumike said. “We were playing with each other. Offense is offense but defense is really where it’s at.”
The team’s 13-4 surge to begin the fourth quarter, which established a 77-59 lead with 5:30, sealed the Sparks’ second home victory of the season. The Sparks improved to 5-6 overall and 2-5 at home.
“Winning at home is imperative… it’s important that we are able to generate and maintain the focus that it requires to win at home,” Ogwumike added.
However, All-Star guard Kelsey Plum only scored three points in the first half. She was 3 of 3 from the free throw line but did not attempt a field goal and finished with 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.
“I know I’m known as a scorer but I’m going to play the right way,” Plum said.
“She’s, I think, the best one-on-one player in the league in terms of her ability to score but then is also a willing passer,” added Roberts when asked about Plum’s second half surge.
Rae Burrell added 10 points, three rebounds and two steals off the bench.
“I think we really locked down on our defense,” Burrell said. “That was the main focus honestly and then that just led into our offense. We were the aggressor.”
Center Megan Gustafson led Portland (6-7) with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Guard Carla Leite and forward Emily Engstler both scored 10 points apiece.
Guard Ariel Atkins’ steal and subsequent fast break layup tied it at 43, and Plum’s first shot of the game put the Sparks up 45-43 early in the third quarter.
Plum’s first 3-pointer put the Sparks up 55-45 with 5:18 left in the third.
“I knew it was going to open up eventually,” Plum said.
The Sparks won the third by a 23-12 margin and took a 64-55 lead into the fourth.
“We’ve all got to be on the same page for 40 minutes,” Roberts said before the game. “Not 32, 40 minutes.”
Coach Roberts said she wanted her reserves, including Burrell, Cameron Brink and Kate Martin, to be two-way players.
“We need (our bench) to defend,” Roberts said, “come in and bring up the level of our defense. That’s what I’m looking for.”
Martin’s corner 3-pointer put the Sparks up 69-57 with 8:24 remaining. She finished with five points and two blocked shots in eight minutes.
Meanwhile, Burrell’s fast break layup made it 24-19 late in the first quarter. The Sparks led 24-21 at the end of the first.
The Fire went on an 8-0 run, capped off by a layup by rookie forward Nyadiew Puoch, and took a 33-32 lead with 4:47 left in the second quarter.
Plum scored her first point of the game on a technical free throw and tied the game at 33 with 4:31 to go in the first half.
Leite’s isolation buzzer-beater put Portland up 43-41 at halftime. Ogwumike led all scorers with 11 points in the first half. Gustafson had 10 points.
“They have a chip on their shoulder,” Roberts said before the game when asked about Portland’s roster, which was formed in April’s expansion draft.
Former Sparks guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, a first-round selection in the 2025 Draft and recent expansion draft pick, was recently elevated into Portland’s starting lineup, in part due to positive statistical analytics.
“The training that we do, how we practice, is completely different from what I’m used to, and I’m very blessed for it,” Barker said. “I think that new things create new growth.”
“I think SA couldn’t have done a better job just in terms of embracing what our identity is as a team,” Portland first-year coach Alex Sarama added. “Just the rate of learning, all our principles of play offensively and defensively. I think she’s fit in perfectly with what we’re trying to achieve here.”
Coach Sarama said he wanted Barker, who scored all six of her points in the first, to approach playing against the former team the same way she does in every other game.
“The most important thing is always just involving the players and giving them the whys,” Sarama explained. “So it’s a case of this is why we’re going to train this way. This is why we’re trying to achieve this very particular intention offensively or defensively.”
UP NEXT
The Sparks will begin a three-game West Coast road trip at Seattle on Wednesday, June 10.
“We’re going to have a game plan that’s well thought out and it’s us choosing to do it for 40 minutes,” Roberts concluded.
Lynne Roberts on Los Angeles Sparks vs. Portland Fire WNBA expansion team and Kate Martin’s role off the Sparks bench as a developmental player. pic.twitter.com/j3h307aGXY
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) June 7, 2026
Former Los Angeles Sparks first round pick Sarah Ashlee Barker on embracing Portland Fire’s analytical approach to basketball in her second season in the WNBA. pic.twitter.com/ejy9i46Drm
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) June 7, 2026
Alex Sarama breaks down the Portland Fire’s analytical approach to winning games in the WNBA via guards like Carla Leite and Sarah Ashlee Barker. pic.twitter.com/sKNdgPLJ8B
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) June 7, 2026