Ogwumike's Buzzer-Beater Boosts Sparks
Published on June 22, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release
Key Takeaways:
The buzzer-beater marked the fourth game-winning shot in Nneka Ogwumike 's regular - season career in the final three seconds of a game and the 11th game-winning field goal in Sparks regular-season history in the final three seconds of a game
Six Sparks recorded double-digit points: Ogwumike (24), Rae Burrell (19), Erica Wheeler (15), Dearica Hamby (12), Kelsey Plum (12) and Ariel Atkins (10)
The Sparks had their most assists in a game this season with 28, surpassing their previous high of 26, which they've hit three times
This game marked Ogwumike 's 92nd game of her career with at least three steals, ranking sixth all time in the W. The Stanford alumna scored a game-high 24 points on 61.1% shooting from the field (11-for-18), 50.0% shooting from three-point range (2-for- 4), six rebounds and three steals, including her game-winning three.
Ogwumike also passed Lisa Leslie for ninth all-time in league history for offensive rebounds.
With a team-high eight rebounds, Hamby is now ranked 23rd all-time in rebounds, passing Yolanda Griffith. The Georgia native also tallied three assists and one steal
Burrell had her fourth straight game with over 13 points, adding 19 points on 50.0% shooting from the field (5-for-10), 50.0% from three-point range (2-for-4) and 100.0% from the free throw line (7-for-7) in less than 26 minutes of action
Los Angeles had 60 points in the paint, while the Liberty had only 42
First Quarter:
Ariel Atkins gave the Sparks their first lead of the game, 7-6, with a triple, assisted by Dearica Hamby, at the 7:43 mark
Kelsey Plum led the Sparks in scoring with seven points (3-for-5 FG, 1-for-1 3PT)
The Sparks shot 47.1% from the field in the opening quarter, assisting on six of eight field goals
In the first, the teams tied in paint scoring, 12-12
There were two lead changes in the quarter, with the Liberty finishing the frame with a 28-18 advantage
The Liberty ended the quarter on a 13-4 scoring run
Second Quarter:
Laura Ziegler scored the first points of her WNBA career with a layup at 8:22, assisted by Plum
Kiana Williams scored her first bucket as a Spark, a jump shot at the 2:45 mark, assisted by Plum
Plum scored a team-high nine points in the half, bolstered by three assists and a rebound.
Wheeler and Hamby each scored eight
Ogwumike led with a game-high three steals in the first half while contributing three rebounds and three assists
In the first half, Burrell completed all of her attempts from the field (3-for-3 FG, 1-for-1 3PT) alongside one rebound and one assist
Los Angeles limited New York to shooting 33.3% (7-for-21) from beyond the arc
The Sparks shot 52.8% from the field (19-for-36) and 36.4% from three-point range (4- for-11) in the first half
Third Quarter:
With three seconds left in the third, Wheeler converted a layup via an assist from Hamby to cut the Sparks' deficit to 76-70
Ogwumike recorded a game-high eight points in the third, completing all of her attempts from the field (4-for-4 FG), alongside three rebounds
Burrell scored seven points (5-for-5 FT) in the third, adding two assists with a game- high +10 rating
Los Angeles ended the third on an 8-0 run to make the score 76-70
The Sparks held the Liberty to 38.9% shooting from the field (7-for-18) in the third quarter
Fourth Quarter:
With 5:31 left in the game, Wheeler drained a triple via an assist from Plum to mark the first tie of the game, 84-84
With her layup at 4:30, assisted by Plum, Ogwumike gave the Sparks their first lead since the 6:27 mark in the first quarter
The Sparks went on a 16-5 run starting at 8:04 to make the score 88-85, Sparks advantage
Ogwumike had nine straight points for the Sparks starting with a fastbreak layup to give her 21 points on the night
With no time remaining in regulation, Ogwumike hit a game-winning three pointer, assisted by Wheeler, to give the Sparks the win
Los Angeles shot 57.9% from the field (11-for-19), 50.0% from three-point range (4-for- 8) and 100.0% from the free throw line (2-for-2) in the fourth
The Sparks held the Liberty to 25.0% shooting from three-point territory (1-for-4) in the fourth Pregame Quotes:
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On the Liberty's unique qualities:
"I think the unique thing is [that] New York is huge. All the way across. That enables them to do some things that are unique. The other thing they're doing is putting [Jonquel Jones] and [Brianna Stewart] in lead guard positions... They're setting ball screens for each other.
[Stewart's] bringing the ball up. That's new, right? So, you prepare a little different when bigs are used to guarding the screen or now they're guarding ball handlers. So, those are just some of the unique nuances they do. And they've got Hall of Famers over there. It's a talented roster that presents problems in and of itself, but they're a good team."
On playing and coaching in Los Angeles:
"There's expectations to be great, expectations to win. The city of champions, right? And I wasn't blind to that when I came.
You feel that and you want to make the city proud, so you work maybe a little harder or sleep a little less, but I think there's a consciousness of the expectations here and I like it."
DeLisha Milton-Jones
On powerful women paving the way:
"I'm loving every moment that we're in. When I spoke to the team, I told them everything that we were playing for. W e're looking at it right now in real time, and we're seeing them live out everything that we were hoping the league would become, and then some. I think that's the power of a woman. You give us anything [and] we're going to multiply it. We're like this chemical agent that can just produce something wonderful from anything. W here we're at is an amazing space and where we're going is even better."
On the CBA agreement and Nneka Ogwumike's leadership:
"We were super -grateful for the fact that we were thought of because it's easy to be forgotten.
You can really think about yourself in the moment that you're in, but they went beyond that.
That just shows who Nneka [ Ogwumike ] is as a person. She is an ambassador, she is someone that thinks beyond herself and she thinks of those who came before her, the moment she's in and even for the future, and I think that's she's done a great job of representing all players from all walks of life in every generation."
Lisa Leslie
On the changing circumstances for WNBA players:
"When you look [back] 30 years ago, our idea was never to play to grow the league. We played the game because we appreciated the opportunity to play in our country. Most people don't know, but most American women -- after graduating from college -- all played somewhere overseas. We lived overseas, and we did that for maybe eight or nine months out of the year. To have the WNBA was an opportunity we all took very seriously... I think the beautiful thing about this 30th anniversary is that I'm happy for the women who get to reap these ben efits. That the brands have realized the beauty and the benefits of these women in partnering up with us, because everyone is watching women's basketball..."
On what the next 30 years of the league will be defined by:
"When we look at the next 30 years, it's continuing to grow. We can't be satisfied, you know? We have to continuously think about the little girls who want to be professional athletes here in our country. The benefits of being a professional athlete for a young girl are outstanding...
Everything that the CBA stands for now is for those young girls and their future. I think the media also has to continue to do their part, continue to support and continue to find representation. Continue to find these amazing stories about these women and tell their stories because that's what connects people, right? ... If you take a moment to speak to any of these women, you're going to hear an amazing story..."
Tamecka Dixon
On the importance of the WNBA for young girls:
"I'm a high school coach now, and the numbers for girls' basketball are starting to suffer a little bit. So, I think the WNBA has an amazing opportunity to be able to reach back into some of these communities and continue to grow at the grassroots level. I think that would be amazing. I think the next 30 years are going to need that."
On entering the WNBA in its infancy as a rookie:
"I was a true rookie coming out of college, and the bright lights of L.A. just numbed me. I remember actually being in the layup line and just staring into the stands, just looking at all the people that had come to see us play."
Postgame Quotes:
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On how fitting it was for Nneka to make the winning shot tonight:
"Remarkable. I said that in the locker room. Everyone in our locker room wouldn't have picked another person to hit that shot. [With] what [ Nneka Ogwumike ]'s done for the league, s he's one of one. And on a night like tonight, where we are honoring the legacy of not only the Sparks, but of the league. What Nneka has done for the league, especially recently with getting that new CBA done, it 's powerful when you think about it. It's really cool and that's what sports can do.
[Sports] brings out these moments and you couldn't have scripted it any better."
On Ziegler's performance off the bench:
"Great job. In that third quarter, [ Laura Ziegler ] and'JP'[ Jihyun Park ] both got us going a little bit, just coming in playing hard-nose?... S he's +1, and in her minutes made her field goals.
But defensively, the thing we've always said about Laura is that she's always in the right spot, and that can make up for a lot of things, right? Especially defensively, I thought she did a great job. We needed her, [I'm] really proud of her and happy for her."
Erica Wheeler On what advice from the legends resonated with her:
"Yesterday, one of them said, 'Enjoy the moment. This franchise has a lot of legacy .' I t comes with a level of pressure.... At the end of the day, enjoy it and be blessed to be in Hollywood and the Sparks because there is a lot of history here that we need to continue to build. So, when [the Legends] said that, I was like,'you know what, that's all right.'"
On maintaining consistent defense:
"I think oftentimes your backs against the wall, you rise to the pressure, but I think we need to start from that...It was just a level of energy in this building that there was no way we were going to lose this game. I think we owed it to the organization to win this game. So, I think we put
Rae Burrell
On her father's influence in her career:
"[ My dad] pushed me to be the best of the best. I never was able to not give my 100%, that's why you always see effort. He didn't care if I was playing bad or whatever, you can always control your effort. Shoutout [to] my dad for pushing me. We used to get up before school to workout and I hated it, b ut you know, I feel like that's what grew my resilience and everything.
Shoutout [to] my dad for just continuing to push me and instilling that in me."
On her offensive contributions Sunday:
"That's always the goal. To contribute in whatever way that is and bring in some energy and bring that aggression. I just wanted that. [Coach Lynne Roberts ] kept reiterating that we need to be more aggressive on defense, so I just took that and wanted to do that on the court and get us going. My teammates always just speak to me and instill confidence in me. [ Erica Wheeler ] is talking to me on the side and it's just nice to have that. It really gets me going, so I'm just happy that I was able to get the birthday dub ."
NEXT: The Sparks head east to play the Toronto Tempo at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto on Thursday, June 25 at 4 p.m. PT.
Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 22, 2026
- Indiana Fever Overcome Double-Digit Deficit to Defeat Phoenix Mercury - Indiana Fever
- Fever Bounce Back against Mercury After First Quarter Struggles - Indiana Fever
- Dream Cruises to Victory over Tempo - Atlanta Dream
- Sky Lose to the Sun, 92-63 - Chicago Sky
- Connecticut Sun Defeat Sky, 92-63 - Connecticut Sun
- Preview: Sky Look to Go up 2-0 in Season Series Versus Sun - Chicago Sky
- Phoenix Mercury Sign Shay Ciezki to Developmental Contract - Phoenix Mercury
- Founding WNBA President Val Ackerman to Receive Indiana Fever's Lin Dunn Inspiring Women Award - Indiana Fever
- Ogwumike's Buzzer-Beater Boosts Sparks - Los Angeles Sparks
- Mystics Topple Minnesota - Washington Mystics
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
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