Valkyries rally past the Sparks 76-75 to secure No. 2 seed and spoil Nneka Ogwumike's final game
Kaitlyn Chen scored 14 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, Gabby Williams added eight points in the final 90 seconds, and the Golden State Valkyries closed on a 17-4 run to beat the Los Angeles Sparks 76-75 in the final game for former WNBA MVP Nne...
LOS ANGELES -- Kaitlyn Chen scored 14 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, Gabby Williams added eight points in the final 90 seconds, and the Golden State Valkyries closed on a 17-4 run to beat the Los Angeles Sparks 76-75 on Thursday night in the final game for former WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike.
Golden State (32-11) secured the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs and will face seventh-seeded Dallas in a first-round series beginning on Sunday.
Ogwumike had 17 points, 15 rebounds and five assists for Los Angeles (16-27) in the final game of her 15-year career. Ogwumike, who announced on Aug. 19 she would retire after this season, and her 19th double-double of the season — and 134th of her career to rank sixth in league history.
Dearica Hamby and Rae Burrell each scored 15 for Los Angeles.
Los Angeles had a 69-57 lead with 4:42 left, but did not make another field goal until the final second.
Williams took over down the stretch. She sank a long 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining and stole the ball at the other end before racing for a fast-break layup to get within 72-70. After a miss by Los Angeles, Williams made a 3-pointer with 20.4 seconds left to go ahead 73-72.
The Sparks had two chances on their next possession before Kiah Stokes secured the defensive rebound. Los Angeles coach Lynne Roberts was called for a technical foul with 10.8 seconds left and Kayla Thornton made the free throw for a 74-72 lead. Thornton added two more free throws with 8.5 left for a 76-72 lead.
Williams finished with 14 points in just 20 minutes for Golden State. Veronica Burton added 17.
Up next
Valkyries: Look to improve to 4-0 this season against the Wings on Sunday.
Sparks: Season is over.
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