Los Angeles (August 14, 2018) – Chelsea Gray recorded a career-high 26 points to lead the Los Angeles Sparks (19-13) to a 74-66 win against the New York Liberty (7-24) in the Sparks’ final regular season game at the Staples Center, a performance that sealed a postseason home game for Los Angeles.

With the score knotted at six at the 6:58 mark, Candace Parker stole the ball from Sugar Rodgers at half-court and drove to the basket for the 3-point play (9-6). The next possession saw Parker hand off to first-time 2018 starter Riquna Williams for the straightaway long ball to extend the Sparks’ lead to six with 6:00 left in the frame. Following a timeout, the Liberty surged to a 9-2 run to take a 17-16 lead (2:01). With the Liberty up one, Gray hit a mid-range jumper with 20 seconds left to give Los Angeles the 22-21 lead going into the second quarter.

Kiah Stokes and Rodgers combined for the first five points of the quarter for New York, forcing Sparks coach Brian Agler to call timeout down 26-22 (8:49). With the Liberty leading 30-28, Parker drained a 3-pointer to retake the lead for the Sparks (5:28). Charles quieted the Los Angeles crowd with a long ball of her own to give her 16 points in the half, pushing the Liberty to a 35-33 advantage. Five points from rookie Kia Nurse fueled a 9-2 run to extend New York’s lead to 44-35 (58.4). Essence Carson hit a three with 25.8 seconds left, sending the teams into the locker rooms with the Liberty leading 44-38. Charles’ 16 led all scores at the break, while Gray added 10 points and four assists for the Sparks.

With the Liberty ahead 47-40, Ogwumike picked off a crosscourt pass and drove the length of the floor for the 3-point play (6:56). After a turnaround jumper from Gray pulled the Sparks to within two (4:28), the Sparks brought down three offensive boards which led to an easy layup for Ogwumike, tying the score at 51. The next possession saw Parker find a cutting Ogwumike for the score, highlighting a 10-0 run that gave the Sparks their first lead of the second half. After Bria Hartley tied the game with a long ball, Gray immediately answered with a 3-point play to give the lead back to Los Angeles. The Sparks would take a 61-58 lead into the fourth behind nine points in the frame from Gray.

Hartley continued to provide a bench spark for the Liberty, hitting a three to tie the game at the 8:17 mark. Following a Sparks timeout, Parker hit a long ball to push the Los Angeles lead to 64-61. Gray followed with a steal and finished solo effort with a 3-point play at the other end (6:08). The Liberty would not go away, as they rattled off five straight points to pull within a point with 3:04 remaining. After a free throw from Parker put Los Angeles up two (2:14), Gray threaded the needle to find a cutting Ogwumike for the two, putting the Sparks ahead 70-66. Gray then iced the game with a stepback jumper with 35.1 to play. Free throws from Gray would give her a career-high 26 points, sending the Sparks home with a 74-66 win in their last home game of the 2018 regular season.

Gray’s 26 was good for the game high, and Ogwumike added 20 points and eight rebounds in the win. Charles ended with 21 points and seven boards for the Liberty.

Attendance: 11,067

SPARKS NOTES:

– Chelsea Gray posted a career-high 26 points, adding five assists to her line

– The Sparks shot 17-44 (38.6%) in the first half

– The Sparks shot 29-79 (36.7%) for the game

– Nneka Ogwumike’s 20 points was good for her 25th game in double figures this season

– Riquna Williams made her first start of the season

– Candace Parker passed Swin Cash for 11th all-time in rebounds

– Candace Parker had 14 points and 10 rebounds, good for her 12th double-double of the season

– The Sparks outscored the Liberty 36-22 in the second half

– The Sparks were held to just 4-19 (21.1%) from behind the 3-point line

Liberty NOTES:

– The Liberty shot 27-62 (43.5%) from the field

– The Liberty shot 5-20 (25%) from 3-point range

– The Liberty shot 7-14 (50%) from the free throw line

– The Liberty only dressed eight players for the game

– The Liberty have now lost 10 straight games

– Tina Charles led the Liberty with 21 points, her fourth straight game of at least 20 points

– The Liberty won the bench scoring battle 16-7

– The Liberty committed 18 turnovers on the night

Quotes:

Sparks Guard Alana Beard On what it will take the next two games to get home court advantage

“Win. That’s honestly what it is. We can’t focus too much on how things are going to play out, other scenarios, I guess we leave that for our GM and other people to do, but at the end of the day winning is all that matters.”

On being a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year again

“It’s what I’ve been doing that’s kept me in this league. It’s what I enjoy to do, it’s what my teammates and my team needs me to do, I understand my role completely. If I’m not on point defensively it’s not a good thing for the team, so it’s what I focus on.”

Sparks Forward Candace Parker On her presence on the floor affecting her leading the game in +/- with +17

“I think it keeps the pace of the game up, and it also adds another ball handler to the group. There’s actions that it’s hard, because you know it’s not somebody normal size that’s doing it. I think for me it’s just about pushing tempo, trying to give Chels a rest every now and again from handling the ball.”

On what it will take the next two games to get home court advantage

“Win. We gotta play hard and win. I mean it’s like at this point everybody’s tired, everybody’s fighting, everybody’s exhausted, everybody’s tired of traveling, season’s winding down, people are getting ready for vacation. For us, we have to be ready.”

Sparks Coach Brian Agler On the big win

“Thought we played great defense in the second half. It was a grind out game and I was happy [because] that’s like a playoff game. You just have to grind out every single possession. It was good for us to have to go from a deficit to a lead, dig it out, and get to that moment”

On whether the second half made him feel encouraged for the playoffs

“I had to remind them going into the second half that they’re champions. You have to play like champions. You got to go get what you want, no one is going to give it to you.”

On decision to start Riquna Williams

“It had a lot to do with how she’s been playing. Nothing against anyone else. You want to reward great play, great attitude, a great teammate, a positive person. She’s turning into the type of [person] that we want to be the core of our team. That’s who Riquna is. She’s that quality individual where she wants to do well individually but it’s more important with how our team does.”

Liberty Forward/Center Tina Charles On her personal performance

“I just do what my teammates need me to do to make the game easier for them.” On the 14 lead changes and back-and-forth affair “We had a lot of effort and energy. We’ll keep our heads up for this next game.”

On Liberty committing 18 turnovers

“It’s huge we had 18 turnovers and they had 24 points off of those. It’s something we need to get better at.”

Liberty Forward/Center Kiah Stokes On team’s injuries

“It’s tough on our starters and Tina [Charles] is our workhorse. She gets the bulk of the minutes. It’s tough on her as a post player”.

On 34 points in the paint as a team

“We have Tina Charles; she’s a great player and [head coach] Katie [Smith] emphasizes that she needs touches.”

Liberty Head Coach Katie Smith On playing on the role of “spoiler” with LA fighting for playoff seeding:

“We’re just trying to get better, we’re playing for jobs, we’re playing for pride as well. We want to keep getting better as a unit, and I think we competed, but we got to figure out how to close out games. We got to hit shots. We know people are going to be contesting on Tina, and people got to be able to knock things down. We started off the third quarter a little rough. We had a great first half, we had too many turnovers as well. They got 24 points off our turnovers, but we’re going to compete every night, and give ourselves a chance to win the ball game.”

On the change in momentum with LA taking the lead late in the third quarter

“They basically tied it up, and they were getting us on the boards, and [we had] more turnovers. We started the third quarter with turnovers and they were getting buckets. So, you know, those things increase their momentum and at the end of the day, we had a hard time scoring down the stretch.”

On Kia Nurse’s performance and overall development

“Nurse, she’s a 3-baller, she’s active. Her effort never changes from start to finish whenever she’s in the ball game, defensively rebounding, and doing the little things. She’s just been somebody who has been consistent all year and you know what you are going to get. She creates good things by the way she plays and just continues to improve her midrange game, finishing layups, but I love the way she is attacking. “