Kelsey Plum had no shots in the first half as the Portland Fire pressed her, but Los Angeles turned to Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby. The post duo fueled the turnaround with a dominant rebounding edge—helping the Sparks snap their three-game losing streak w
LOS ANGELES – The first thing Kelsey Plum noticed wasn’t the scoreboard. It was the matchup. Against the Portland Fire, she was pressured into traffic early and faced two defenders as the Sparks tried to break their way back into rhythm.
Plum, the league’s leading scorer, didn’t take a shot in the first half. For a guard used to operating with space, it left the Sparks with a simple problem and a clear choice: keep forcing possessions the way the Fire wanted, or find another route.
They found it through their posts. Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby took over the momentum in the first half, carried it into the second, and Los Angeles rode that surge to an 89-72 win—snapping a three-game losing streak.
After the final buzzer, Plum pointed to what made the difference: offensive rebounds. She said the Fire’s willingness to send a double-team is what opened the door for the Sparks—if Los Angeles crashed the glass consistently.
“I think they got going because of the offensive rebounds, especially if they’re going to send a double. Then that means you’re going to be playing an advantage. four on three on the other side and you got to really crash the glass. ” Plum told a small group of reporters postgame. “We did a great job of that and that’s what we need every night. So we got to continue to do that and we have shooters so we have the spacing.”.
Plum added that the advantage can show up in the pick-and-roll as well: when the defense switches and a big ends up on a guard, the rebound battle can tilt.
“A lot of times too, in a pick and roll, you switch and now a big is on a guard and you have the advantage in the rebounding battle. I saw it was a great, consistent effort and it paid off.”
That “consistent effort” came through Ogwumike and Hamby’s production on the glass. The Sparks’ posts didn’t just keep balls alive—they turned those extra possessions into scoring opportunities. Both finished in double figures, with Ogwumike pulling down 17 rebounds and Hamby grabbing 12. Each also grabbed six offensive rebounds, tying a WNBA record for two teammates having at least six offensive boards.
Hamby converted the rebounding work into points, dropping a game-high 22, while Ogwumike added 20. Together, the duo shot 57 percent from the field.
The turnaround mattered even more because it arrived right after a difficult moment for the team. The Sparks had come into the game following a loss to the Dallas Wings in which Ogwumike and Hamby failed to score in the fourth quarter. After that defeat, head coach Lynne Roberts didn’t believe anything was amiss with her veteran posts.
In their return to form, Hamby pointed to the same theme Plum did—spacing and the willingness to create second chances. During her postgame press conference, she emphasized how the Sparks are still building chemistry.
“I think just being super intentional about our spacing,” Hamby said. “I feel like each game we’re still kind of learning each other more and getting more comfortable. But I would say more so the spacing and then just crashing and creating second opportunities.”
Los Angeles and Portland ended up tied in total rebounds at 42 apiece. The Sparks’ edge came on the offensive end: they finished with one more offensive rebound than the Fire, 15-14. That margin may look small on paper. but in a game where Plum was held without a first-half shot. it was enough to swing the contest.
The rebounding pressure also fits the Sparks’ broader reality. Los Angeles is second to last in the league in rebounding at 29.3, just above Portland’s 27.6.
Now the question turns to continuity. If the Sparks want to string together more than one night like this. they’ll need the same kind of glass-crashing effort that finally gave Plum the space to get into a rhythm—while Ogwumike and Hamby carried the offensive load when the Fire’s defense tried to take everything away.
WNBA Los Angeles Sparks Portland Fire Kelsey Plum Nneka Ogwumike Dearica Hamby 89-72 rebounding offensive rebounds Lynne Roberts