Postgame Notes: Liberty vs. Sparks
Published on July 29, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Los Angeles Sparks News Release
Game Leaders:
Sparks PTS - Rae Burrell (24) REB - Cameron Brink (6) AST - Erica Wheeler/Nneka Ogwumike (9)
Liberty PTS - Breanna Stewart (29) REB - Sabrina Ionescu (9) AST - Breanna Stewart (7)
Key Takeaways:
The Sparks' 35 assists are the most in a game in franchise history while the team's 16 made three-pointers tied a franchise record on 51.6% shooting (16-for-31). Additionally, Los Angeles' 44 field goals made were its most field goals made in a game this season and the most in a game since its 45 made field goals on August 18, 2017 against the Chicago Sky
Six Sparks scored in double figures: Rae Burrell (24), Nneka Ogwumike (21), Erica Wheeler (17), Ariel Atkins (16), Dearica Hamby (12) & Cameron Brink (11)
Ogwumike completed three three-pointers to move to 6th in the all-time Sparks list, passing Chelsea Gray and reached 3,500 career rebounds with her four rebounds. The
forward also tied her career high and recorded a new season high with a game-high nine assists
Burrell recorded both a new career high in field goals made with 10 and a career high in steals with four. The guard-forward also tied her career high and scored a team-high 24 points
Wheeler contributed 17 points (4-for-5 3PT) and a game-high-tying nine assists to post a team-high +15 rating
First Quarter:
Ariel Atkins opened scoring for the Sparks with a jump shot via an assist from Erica Wheeler at the 9:32 mark
The Sparks shot 65% from the field (13-for-20) 43.0% from three (3-for-7)
Burrell and Atkins led the team in scoring, both with seven points while shooting 75.0% (3-for-4) from the field and 50.0% (1-for-2) from beyond the arc
Los Angeles led New York in paint points (18-10) and assists (12-9)
The opening quarter featured eight lead changes and three ties
Second Quarter:
Brink scored a team-high seven points (3-for-4 FG) while contributing a game-high four rebounds in the second quarter
The Sparks went on 20-4 run from the 9:01 to the 4:08 mark to take the lead, 52-43
With less than thirty second left in the first half, Chance Gray completed a jump shot via an assist from DearI a Hamby to deepen the Los Angeles' lead, 56-53
In the second quarter, the Sparks tallied twice as many assists (8-4) and limited the Liberty to no fast break points (3-0) and no steals (5-0)
Third Quarter:
The Sparks went on 11-2 run from the 7:15 to the 5:41 mark to take the lead, 62-71
In the third quarter, Atkins tallied a game-high four assists while Burrell scored a team- high seven points
In under six minutes of action, Erica Wheeler completed all her attempts from beyond the arc (2-for-2 3PT) and recorded two assists
Los Angeles limited New York to 33.3% (3-for-9) from the three-point territory
The third quarter featured three lead changes and two ties
Fourth Quarter:
With her floater at the 7:01 mark, Burrell set a new career high in field goals made and tied her career high in points with 24
Ogwumike led the team in scoring with 10 points (4-for-5 FG, 2-for-3 3PT) alongside two assists and one steal in less than nine minutes of action
Los Angeles shot 62.5% (10-for-16) from the field and 60.0% (3-for-5) from three in the final quarter of play
Pregame Quotes:
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On having the team stay present:
"[Presence is] part of what I really believe in, and I preach it in terms of the process. Losing sucks and the sting doesn't ever get easier. But, you've got to find the things that you're improving and building on. T hat's what I try to do ... I think the key to doing it is just staying present, not thinking about what's next ga me, and what if these guys beat them and we beat these guys. You just have to stay present and be where your feet are and focus on the task right in front of you. That's the only way."
On Kate Martin's value to the team:
"[ Kate Martin ] a joy to coach. As I've said before, when she's done playing, she should coach.
She would be phenomenal.
She's great to have around, and we're trying to get her in the rotation a little more consistently. Just trying to figure out who's in and who's out with those things. But, she can knock down [three-pointers]. She plays her tail off and is just so incredibly coachable. I love having her on our team."
DeLisha Milton Jones
On the emotional moment of having your jersey number retired:
"Some things are worth the wait, and this is definitely one of them. The feelings that I have are all over the place, but they're settling into feeling something similar to when you go home and it's a family reunion. You see a lot of people that you know and love, and they love you back the same. Coming into now the [Crypto.com] Arena, even though the name is different, the feel is still the same. It's one that will never ever leave the bones in my body.
Walking through the tunnel, getting to the locker room, I feel like I'm ready for the game...
I'm super elated to be in this moment, to be alive, to receive flowers of this magnitude. Just an amazing feeling."
On the hard work that implemented her Spark's legacy:
"You just put your head down and grind. The work will take care of itself, even if it may have to come later. But, that still doesn't mean it can't be greater. T hat's the very moment that I'm living in right now. Yes, there have been managerial changes. Yes, I may have been lost in the shuffle of things, but no, people did not forget me. They did not forget the body of work that I put in for the Sparks. They have my blood, sweat, tears and my soul. I left everything here in LA and it's so good to be able to come back and feel welcomed and now to have my name in the rafters.
Where I was one of many, now I'm one of a few, and I'm sitting amongst a lot of the lead individuals that I'm super proud to be a part of."
Postgame Quotes:
Head Coach Lynne Roberts
On the team's flow on Tuesday evening:
"I think we played well. We had 30 points off of 18 turnovers. We were active, we were connected. Good offense beats good defense. There [were] some mistakes. Obviously, we're not going to play perfect. Neither did they. We made more field goals than them. We lost at that free throw line. It's
hard to defend the shooter at the free throw line. It's not moral victories, but we can build on that. We had 35 assists. That's a franchise record. We're playing the right way and you can go down the line, Rae [ Burrell ] was phenomenal attacking and just a couple times she had a turnover. She got both of them back. That's the kind that's winning basketball. We didn't get the reward of the win, but I am proud of the team ."
On the team's resilience:
"It's one at a time. I think if we play like this, then we're going to come out with the right result.
We're repeating ourselves. It's frustrating to lose. It's really frustrating to play well, shoot we ll, move the ball well and not get rewarded. But, we 've got to just understand, and Nneka [ Ogwumike ] said in the locker room, we can play like this... I thought we were doing a good job of moving for each other, great off- ball screening for each other, and that's what happens. 35 assists. New York's got some studs on their team, and in those crunch moments, they took over.
So, you have to tip your hat to them. They did a great job. But again, I think we can build momentum. We just have to be consistent."
Rae Burrell
On what the team can improve on:
"I'm feeling just disappointed. Obviously, you want to win. For me, it's just staying aggressive. I definitely want to clean up those turns that I did have, and I was able to get it back. But, [I] just want to take care of the ball better on the offensive end and just do whatever my team needs for me."
On the team's progress since the break:
"I think everybody needed a break, a reset, and I think the team was able to go and do that. We had a conversation before we even went on break that it was the goal to go reset and then come back ready to be the team that we want to be, and I feel like we were able to do that. We didn't get the result we wanted to get, but we still showed improvement. Sometimes, you literally just need to reset whatever that looks like for you I think that everybody did that for themselves, and I think that it made a difference coming back."
Erica Wheeler
On seeing the good:
"No moral victories, but it's a lot of good that we can take from this game. I think ou r pace was great. Our execution was probably the best we've had in a long time. They just shot the shit out of the ball."
On striving to improve:
"We don't have to hang our heads. We don't have to feel too defeated. But, digesting the losses isn't going to go down easy. It's still hard to swallow. But, like I said, the game was complete.
We just needed to get certain stuff that we didn't get and, like I said, to hit shots. But, make no mistake, we are not okay with it."
NEXT: On Sunday, Aug. 2, the Sparks face the Fire in Portland, Ore. at the Moda Center at 12:30 p.m. PT
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