Ogwumike reaches 8,000 career points as Sparks beat Fire 105-84

Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks became the fourth player in WNBA history to score 8,000 career points on Sunday night, in a 105-84 win over the Portland Fire at Crypto.com Arena. She needed seven points to get there. She scored 20.

Ogwumike finished with 20 points on 9-of-19 shooting, 12 rebounds, five of them offensive, and five assists in 27 minutes. The Sparks outscored Portland by 20 points while she was on the floor. Her career total is 8,013, behind Diana Taurasi (10,646 points), Tina Charles (8,396) and DeWanna Bonner (8,217). The crowd was 17,703.

Ogwumike will retire at the end of the 2026 season. On August 19 WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert marked her 15 seasons in the league. Ogwumike was the league's MVP in 2016.

How the game went

Los Angeles took the lead for good late in the first quarter, at 21-19 with 2:03 left, and led 28-26 when it ended. The game was settled in the second quarter, which the Sparks won 32-15. They scored 12 straight points, from 33-31 to 45-31, and then 10 more in a row, from 52-41 to 62-41 early in the third quarter. They led by 19 at halftime, 60-41, and by 20 after three quarters, 85-65. Portland got no closer than 18 in the fourth.

The Sparks won it from the three-point line. They made 14 of 29 threes (48%), and the Fire made 6 of 27 (22%), a difference of 24 points on those shots alone. Los Angeles shot 33 of 62 from the field (53%) to Portland's 28 of 64 (44%). The Fire scored 42 points in the paint to the Sparks' 28 and had 10 steals to Los Angeles' six, but it turned the ball over 15 times, and it made 22 of 31 free throws to Los Angeles' 25 of 29. The Sparks had 24 assists to Portland's 17, and their reserves outscored the Fire's bench 32-25.

Who scored

Rae Burrell also scored 20, on 5-of-8 shooting with eight of nine free throws, in 25 minutes. Ariel Atkins had 14 points and five rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting, and Chance Gray had 11, making three of five three-pointers. Emma Cannon added 10 points in 13 minutes, and Erica Wheeler made three of four threes for nine. Tonie Morgan had seven points and four assists.

For the Fire, Carla Leite scored 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting and made eight of 12 free throws, with five assists and four turnovers. Charisma Osborne scored 13 and Megan DiLeo 11.

Scoring.

Los Angeles: Nneka Ogwumike 20, Rae Burrell 20, Ariel Atkins 14, Chance Gray 11, Emma Cannon 10, Erica Wheeler 9, Tonie Morgan 7, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda 6, Monique Akoa Makani 6, Jihyun Park 2, Shyanne Sellers 0.

Portland: Carla Leite 23, Charisma Osborne 13, Megan DiLeo 11, Emily Engstler 10, Karlie Samuelson 8, Nyadiew Puoch 7, Serah Williams 6, Frieda Buhner 4, Jordan Harrison 2.

By quarter: Los Angeles 28, 32, 25, 20. Portland 26, 15, 24, 19.

What is next

The Sparks are 16-26 and the Fire are 16-27. The Sparks play at the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday, September 22. The Fire finish their regular season at home against the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday.